So the north/south civil war between the mainly Muslim north and the Animist and Christian south ended with a peace agreement in January 2005 , but fighting broke out in the western region of Darfur in early 2003. According to the BBC the fighting is between pro-government Arab militias and the non-Arab groups in the region. In my opinion it seems that the civil war just shifted to a different part of the country.
"International experts say 200,000 have died and 2.7 million have fled their homes since Darfur rebels started a war against Sudan's government in 2003. Khartoum disputes these figures, claiming that only 10,000 have died."
"Sudan's name comes from the Arabic "bilad al-sudan", or land of the blacks. Arabic is the official language and Islam is the religion of the state, but the country has a large non-Arabic speaking and non-Muslim population which has rejected attempts by the government in Khartoum to impose Islamic Sharia law on the country as a whole." BBC Article, January 2009
SIM (Serving in Mission) is partnering with Sudan Interior Church to start the Secondary School of Sudan Interior Church. It is the only school beyond 8th grade for nearly one million people, many whom have resettled the area after the civil war. The Village of Yabus, home to around a thousand, has the Yabus river (a year round water supply), an all-weather airstrip and old SIM buildings that can still be used with a minimum of repairs. Along with a secondary school is a teacher training institute. This region is the home of the Uduks who are free to return to Chali, Sudan and other villages like Yabus after fleeing to Ethiopia during the war. Approximately 6,000 of them are back in their home territory, while about 10,000 remain in Ethiopia, expecting to return home over the next few years.
So to completely answer the, "Is it safe?", question is difficult. I'm sure there are some risks but the fighting in Darfur is about 500 miles across the country. That's like from Seattle to Missoula!
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