People started surviving from the resources they had used in former times, hundreds of years ago. There are continual allegations of war crimes against both the government and the rebels, including rape, slavery, bombing of civilians and use of child soldiers. The fighting is partly about religion. In the Nuba Mountains, however, one can see the ethnic dimension to the war. Many Nuba are Muslim, too.
Religious tolerance is the norm and intermarriage is common.
Nuba Muslims say that because they are black and not Arab, they have never been accepted by the north. The Nuba threw in with the rebels in 1985 and since then the government has enforced a strict blockade against the region. Even though the United Nations warned last month that the Nuba are threatened with starvation this year due to drought, the government in Khartoum will not allow aid deliveries. In the village of Mirawi that means things like salt, sugar, even clothing, are rare commodities. Running water is unheard of and metal of any kind is scarce.