The Conflict

Slavery re-emerged in the Sudan as the civil war continued. The government has armed one tribal group, the Baqqara, and allowed them to hold Dinka women and children as slaves.

Religious

• The Islamic north wants to impose shari'a law (Islamic law) on the Christian south.

Economic

• With the discovery of oil in southern Sudan, the south became crucial to the economic health of the north. In addition, there are conflicts over water and grazing rights.

The civil war in Sudan, which has raged in various stages of intensity for forty years, has given rise to allegations of slavery—men, women, and children taken from their homes and forced into labor or, for some, forced into conscription in the army. Human rights groups have volubly protested the reemergence of slavery in Sudan. Pictures of enslaved children...