The republic of Sudan (jumhuriyyat al-sudan)

The major domestic process in Sudan in 1986 was the return to political democracy. The election results also reflected the weak political base of the Communist Party in the Sudanese population. Western Sudan — an arid, extremely poor and largely undeveloped area, suffering from its considerable distance from the country's political and economic centers — has been one of the most neglected regions in the country, hence, the recurrent riots which swept the region from time to time. Tripoli's political, economic and military support of the Khartoum Government was also important to the new Sudanese regime. Sudan's Foreign Minister, Ibrahim Taha Ayyub, put it very plainly when he stated that "our relations with Libya are only designed to attain mutual interests in the same way as with all Arab and African countries". Sudan's sensitivity stemmed from the potential dangers inherent in the presence of Libyan troops among the restive population in West Sudan.