, sometimes considered part of the Middle East
politically. It is bordered by Egypt
to the north, the Red Sea
to the northeast, Eritrea
and Ethiopia
to the east, South Sudan
to the south, the Central African Republic
to the southwest, Chad
to the west, and Libya
to the northwest. The population of Sudan is a combination of indigenous Saharan Africans, and descendants of migrants from the Arabian Peninsula
.
1884 The Siege of Khartoum, Sudan begins, ending on January 26, 1885.
1885 A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
1896 British force under Horatio Kitchener takes Dongola in the Sudan.
1956 The Republic of the Sudan achieves independence from the Egyptian Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
1956 Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia join the United Nations.
1973 Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages.
1991 Sudan's government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country's Muslim north and Christian south.
1997 The United States of America imposes economic sanctions against Sudan in response to its human rights abuses of its own citizens and its material and political assistance to Islamic extremist groups across the Middle East and Eastern Africa.
1998 U.S. embassy bombings: the United States launches cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaida camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
2004 Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.