War in Darfur
It was the first time that the War in Darfur, previously confined to western Sudan, reached the country's capital. Overall, the war has claimed the lives of up to 300,000 people, with 2.5 million more made homeless since 2003 (the United States has labeled the conflict in Darfur as genocide, a charge the Sudanese government has rejected). Despite decades of warfare in Southern Sudan, Khartoum had not experienced any street fighting since 1976.