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BASICS
Safety
Peace and war go together as life partners in Sudan. War at one level or the other has dominated the country for decades. Yet, the central regions are very safe in this respect, and with Sudan being such a huge country with a poor infrastructure, conflicts do not easily spread.
At the time of writing (July 2007) a number of regions are considered unsafe
- Darfur region. The situation here remains difficult and unsafe.
- The south. In the Malakal region, there is a civil war between the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and armed militia groups. In the rest of these regions, including around Juba, there is either fighting between different groups, or there problems with banditry.
- Border region towards Eritrea, including Kassala. Ongoing fighting between Eritrean and Sudanese troops.
The Sudan is so vast that some of the best areas of the country, seen from a traveller's point of view, is not affected by the civil war. And even the civil war is not one of the wildest. The Sudan can offer some of the greatest scenery of Africa, some of the most beautiful people, both physically and in the way they act. And Sudan is cheap, so even if there might not be too much to make you splurge, budgets will not represent any obstacles to the average traveller.
The Sudan is simply not a very safe country, but there are extreme differences between different regions. Special attention is not needed in the north and east, nor in the capital area. Travelling here is probably less hazardous concerning crime, than many places in Europe, North America and Asia. The normal Sudanese is totally honest and reliable.
Women should take care not to provoke conservative Sudanese, and also be aware that female travelling is not always too common. Some problems in apparently neutral places like hotels and restaurants, can occur. Physical violence is not to be feared.
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