Timeline Of Civil War In South Sudan
South Sudan, officially called the Republic of South Sudan is a country in east-central Africa and its capital is Juba. The states of Southern Sudan and North Sudan were under the power of the Anglo-Egyptian dynasty. During this time, the two regions of Sudan were imaginatively divided into south and north. In the north, living conditions were always good, allowing the development of this territory, while in the south, resources were precarious and there was no room for the advancement and progress of the inhabitants. Due to this asymmetry in the distribution of resources and power, a strong civil war broke out in 1955 between the north and south of the Sudan, which ended in 1972. The south region of Sudan was demanding a balance allocation of resources and a high level of participation in decision-making processes in Sudanese territory. This first 17-year civil war between the two regions ended in 1972 with a treaty signed in Addis Ababa, which guaranteed greater autonomy for the southern region. This treaty established that the power of the government would be limited by a regional assembly elected by southern Sudan. In addition, the recognition of Arabic as the official language of Sudan and English as the main language of the south. However, non-compliance with the main points of the agreement led to the second civil war between the two parties.
The clashes between the south and the north of Sudan increased thanks to the discovery of oil deposits in 1978, which were very close to the borders of the two regions. This event allowed the north of Sudan to seek different ways to maintain and increase domination over the southern region and made it possible for the south to confront the north more violently in order to profit from these deposits and extend its power. In 1983, this conflict was getting out of control and the north was increasingly attacking the autonomy of the south. The straw that broke the camel's back was the announcement by the Khartoum government that Sudan was a totally Islamist state, completely breaking the freedom and sovereignty of the southern region. For this reason, rebel groups in the south increased their actions against government authorities. The main southern movement was The Sudan People's liberation movement (SPLM) and the Sudan people's liberation army (SPLA). These groups wanted to create a government separate from the actions of the north and a greater independence of the southern region. The main leader of these movements was the military man John Garang, who signed in 2002 a peaceful agreement with the government of Sudan to solve the problems of the division of religion and autonomy of the southern region.
After many years of dialogues, the government and the Sudanese people´s liberation movement signed a Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. The main points reached in this agreement were related to respect for the religion and culture of the South, autonomy and separation from the South through a referendum to be held in 2011. After the peace agreement negotiations, the leader John Garang died and was replaced by the soldier, Salva Kiir Mayardit, who was designated president of South Sudan on a temporary basis for the period from 2005 to 2010. In 2010, Salva Kiir was re-elected and hired Riek Machar as vice-president. In 2011, the inhabitants of South Sudan voted in the referendum agreed in 2005, in which the south achieved the desired separation and independence from the north. Despite this fact, the south region was not yet ready for independence because it was suffering from serious processes of underdevelopment, corruption, divisions and a badly limited border with the north, which made it difficult to define oil deposits. In 2013, many SPLM members said the party lost its purpose after Garang's death. For this reason, there was some division within the movement, including Vice President Riek Machar, who had aspirations to become president in the upcoming elections. President Salva Kiir then dismissed his entire cabinet, replacing them with outsiders. All this was accompanied by the accusation that Riek Machar had planned a coup d'état against his government. For all this, Riek escaped from Juba, denying his participation in these attacks. However, days later, he announced his plans to overthrow Salva Kiir.
After that, violence erupted between presidential guard soldiers and different groups which supported Machar. Riek Machar created a group called Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) and declared a rebellion. As result of this situation hundreds of civilians died ensuing attacks reportedly targeting Machar’s ethnic group in Juba in the first days of the conflict. The conflict between government forces and militia loyal to President Kiir and forces aligned with Machar, triggered mass displacement compounding the country’s vast preexisting needs and development challenges. Although the dispute within the SPLM that led to the conflict was primarily political, ethnic targeting, communal mobilization and spiraling violence quickly led to appalling levels of brutality against civilians, including deliberate killings inside churches and hospitals. At the end of 2013, the United Nations council authorized the deployment of 7,000 security forces to help maintain peace and rebuild the nation. In January 2014, the parties involved in the conflict committed to a mutual ceasefire agreement as well as establishing a transitional government. However, this agreement was quickly violated and thanks to international pressure, in 2015 the parties were able to reach an agreement. In 2016, Riek Machar returned to the country as a sign of compliance with the agreement, however, the armed conflict continued and the parties once again violated the ceasefire and instigation, causing the displacement of the population. According to world food programme (WFP) “The country again faced critical food shortages in early 2019, warning that more than seven million people could be at risk of severe food insecurity during summer months”.
