It was a strange place to find a Hollywood star. George ClooneyThe actor first found fame in the TV series ER. His wife, Amal, is a British-Lebanese human rights lawyer. was visiting a village to which over 1,000 families had fled from Darfur. "There are no tents," he noted in a video diary. "Most just sleep under trees. No food, no water. These people had jobs and property before the Arab JanjaweedThe term means "devils on horseback". militia burned their villages, raped their women and killed their children."

That was 2006. Clooney's helped bring attention to one of the world's most horrific humanitarian crises. But 15 years later, Sudan and South Sudan are still suffering - and news of a coup in KhartoumBuilt at the meeting point of two rivers, the Blue Nile and the White Nile, it has a population of five million. has done nothing to reassure their populations.

Sudan gained independence from Britain in 1956. But even before that there was conflict between the north and the south. Two civil wars, from 1955 to 1972 and 1983 to 2005, left two million dead.  

The crisis which moved George Clooney began in 2003 with attacks on the government in Khartoum. In response, the president encouraged the Janjaweed militia to attack non-Arab villagers in the western province of Darfur.

It is estimated that 400,000 people were killed, and over three million displaced. The International Criminal Court (ICC) charged al-Bashir with crimes against humanity.   

In 2011, South Sudan became independent. But two years later violence broke out between the tribes of its president and vice-president as they competed for farmland and the country's oil wealthWhen South Sudan broke away from the rest of the country, it was left in control of 70% of the oil wells.. Last year it was named the world's joint most corrupt nationAccording to Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index. Somalia is the other country..

This conflict has claimed 400,000 lives. According to the UN, two-thirds of the population8.3 million people. need humanitarian aid.

Meanwhile, in Sudan, Omar al-Bashir was overthrownAl-Bashir was sent to prison for corruption after 0m was found at his home, and is now supposed to be handed over to the ICC for trial. in a coup in 2019. A transitional government with military and civilian members were set up to prepare for democratic elections in 2022.

But that was riven by disagreement. Yesterday, the news came that the army had arrested several leading civilian politicians, including the prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok.

International leaders expressed concern. The US said that $377m in aid was now in question.  

But George Clooney believes that outside forces have contributed to the suffering. In 2019 he criticised corrupt politicians in South Sudan, but noted:

"They received money, oil, transportation and weapons from a vast array of people and corporations all over the world who have profited from this crisis. These profiteers include Chinese and Malaysian oil giants, British tycoons and American businessmen - and without their support these atrocities could never have happened at this scale."

No. Sudan and South Sudan's problems are of their own making. The appalling suffering is down to conflicts between ethnic groups, which are too complicated for outsiders to resolve, and the corruption of their leaders. They have huge oil reserves, but have spent the proceeds on fighting each other instead of building institutions to ensure peace.  

Yes. We should have intervened to stop the genocide in Darfur, foreigners greedy to share the countries' oil wealth have made things worse by financing different factions. Others still blame Clooney and US politicians for encouraging South Sudan's independence without realising it would pave the way for new tribal conflicts.