Events leading up to Sudan's present social and economic crises could be said to have started in 2002.

Chronology Of Major Events

2002 - Government and SPLA sign the landmark Machakos Protocol providing for the south to seek self-determination after six years.
2003 October - PNC leader Turabi released after nearly three years in detention and ban on his party is lifted.
2004 March - UN official says pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias are carrying out systematic killings of non-Arab villagers in Darfur.
2005 January - Government and southern rebels sign a peace deal.
2005 9 July - Former southern rebel leader John Garang is sworn in as First Vice President. A constitution which gives a large degree of autonomy to the south is signed.
2005 1 August - Vice President and former rebel leader, John Garang is killed in a plane crash. He is succeeded by Salva Kiir. Garang's death sparks deadly clashes in the capital between southern Sudanese and northern Arabs.
2005 October - Autonomous government is formed in the south in line with the January 2005 peace deal.
2007 July - UN Security Council approves a resolution authorising a 26,000-strong force for Darfur.
2008 March - Presidents of Sudan and Chad sign accord aimed at halting five years of hostilities between their countries.
2008 June - President al-Bashir and southern leader Salva Kiir agree to seek international arbitration to resolve dispute over Abyei.
2009 March - The International Criminal Court in The Hague issues an arrest warrant for President Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
2009 December - Leaders of North and South reach deal on terms of referendum on independence due in South by 2011.
2010 April - President Bashir gains new term in first contested presidential polls since 1986.
2010 July - International Criminal Court issues second arrest warrant for President al-Bashir - this time on charges of genocide.
2011 January - People of the South vote in favour of full independence from the north.
2011 May - Northern troops overrun town of Abyei on disputed border between north and south.
2011 July - South Sudan gains independence.
2011 December - International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor requests arrest warrant for Sudan's Defence Minister, Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, for alleged war crimes in Darfur.
2012 January - South Sudan halts oil production after talks on fees for the export of oil via Sudan break down.
2012 February-April - Sudan and South Sudan sign non-aggression pact at talks on outstanding secession issues, but border fighting breaks out.
2012 May - Sudan pledges to pull its troops out of the border region of Abyei, which is also claimed by South Sudan, as bilateral peace talks resume.
2012 June - Week-long protests in Khartoum at austerity measures spread from students to general public and turn into clashes with police. Government had cut fuel and other subsidies because of the drop in oil revenues after the independence of South Sudan.
Source: BBC