The UN's outgoing military commander in Sudan has said that the six-year conflict in Darfur is effectively over.
General Martin Agwai said isolated attacks and banditry were the region's main problems now. Some 2.7m people have fled their homes during the conflict and the UN says some 300,000 have died.
How did the conflict start?
It broke out in early 2003 after the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) began attacking government targets, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs.
Darfur, which means land of the Fur, has faced many years of tension over land and grazing rights between the mostly nomadic Arabs, and farmers from the Fur, Massaleet and Zaghawa communities.
How did the government respond to the rebellion?
It admits mobilising "self-defence militias" following rebel attacks.
But it denies any links to the Arab Janjaweed militia - who are accused of trying to "cleanse" black Africans from large swathes of territory.
KEY REBEL PLAYERS
President Omar al-Bashir has called the Janjaweed "thieves and gangsters".
But refugees say air raids by government aircraft would be followed by attacks from the Janjaweed, who would ride into villages on horses and camels, slaughtering men, raping women and stealing whatever they could find.
The US and some human rights groups have said genocide is taking place - though a UN investigation team concluded that war crimes had been committed but there had been no intent to commit genocide.
Trials have been announced in Khartoum of some members of the security forces suspected of abuses - but this is viewed as part of a campaign against attempts to get suspects tried at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
What has happened to Darfur's civilians?
The United Nations says more than 2.7 million have fled their homes and now live in camps near Darfur's main towns.
SEARCH FOR PEACEDarfuris say the Janjaweed patrol outside the camps and men are killed and women raped if they venture too far in search of firewood or water.
Some 200,000 people have also sought safety in neighbouring Chad, but many of these are camped along a 600km (372 mile) stretch of the border and remain vulnerable to attacks from the Sudan side.
Chad's eastern areas have a similar ethnic make-up to Darfur and the violence has spilled over the border area, with the neighbours accusing one another of supporting each other's rebel groups.
Many aid agencies have been working in Darfur but they are unable to get access to vast areas because of the insecurity. Several were banned after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Bashir for alleged war crimes.
How many have died?
The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease.
President Bashir puts the death toll at 10,000.
Accurate figures are difficult to research and have made no distinction between those dying as a result of violence and those dying as a result of starvation or disease in the camps.
The numbers are crucial in determining whether the deaths in Darfur are genocide or - as the Sudanese government says - the situation is being exaggerated.
Is anyone trying to stop the fighting?
Yes.
There are thousands of peacekeepers in the region under the auspices of a joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission, Unamid.
And peace talks between Khartoum and Jem are being sponsored by Qatar, the United Nations, the African Union and Arab League.
The US envoy to Darfur, Scott Gration, is also involved in talks aimed at getting the rebel groups - of which there are many - to agree a common position so they can take part in broader peace talks.
Who is to blame?
The international community lays much of the blame on Mr Bashir.
He has frequently been accused of supporting the pro-government militias.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant earlier this year, though he is unlikely to be detained because many African countries say they will not honour the warrant.
Rebel groups have also been held responsible for some atrocities.
Bahr Idriss Abu Garda, who led the United Resistance Movement group, is currently on trial in The Hague for his part in a 2007 attack in which 12 AU peacekeepers were killed.
^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~58~RS~)