This is the most fertile land in these mountains, yet it lies uncultivated after 15 years of war.
Pathways created by burning routes across the lush plains connect one isolated peak to the next.
The SPLA has been waging a battle for self-determination with the Islamic fundamentalist government based in the capital city of Khartoum. The 17-year war has cost more lives than those in Kosovo, Bosnia, Rwanda and Somalia combined, with an estimated 2 million deaths in conflict and related famine. The people of the Nuba Mountains account for a large portion of the losses, and many human rights groups assert that they are facing genocide. In 1985 about 1.3 million Nuba lived here, while now there are roughly 250,000. The conflict has both religious and racial components.