The previous discussion revealed that the root causes of the civil war in Sudan are multi-dimensional in nature and scale. They range from factors related to the historical legacy of Sudanese state formation to the present governance, national politics and policies, and their regional and ethnic manifestations. The task of this chapter is to trace the root causes, dynamics, and ramifications of the civil war, and the trajectories of its extension from southern to northern Sudan via the Nuba Mountains. It reviews in brief the pre-war political situation in the region while focusing, in details, on the war's dynamics and effects. These local events are analyzed from a broad state- and governance-based perspective. It is within this broader context that land, as a source of wealth, power and identity, acquires significance in local and national conflicts.

Nuba marginalization and their peaceful political striving

After Independence in 1956, the Nuba people, among other marginalized communities, realized that, despite their contribution to the struggle for the new state, they were being purposely denied access to, and participation in, power and wealth sharing, coupled with socio-cultural exclusion and suppression of their identities (Abbas 1973; Ibrahim 1988; Battahani 1998; Rahhal 2001a; Komey 2005a, 2005b; Ylonen 2009).