The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and the Blue Nile. It lasted for 22 years and is one of the longest civil wars on record. The war resulted in the independence of South Sudan six years after the war ended.
John Garang de Mabior was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War, and following a peace agreement he briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan for 3 weeks until his death in a helicopter crash on 30 July 2005. A developmental economist by profession, Garang was a major influence on the movement that led to the foundation of South Sudan.
Bor is the capital of Jonglei State in South Sudan. Since 2016, it has also served as the headquarters of Bor Municipality. The city is situated on the east side of the White Nile at the southern extent of the sudd, South Sudan's vast central wetlands.
Salva Kiir Mayardit, also known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has been President of South Sudan since its independence in 2011. Prior to independence, he was President of the Government of Southern Sudan, as well as First Vice President of Sudan, from 2005 to 2011. He was named Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 2005, following the death of John Garang.
Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon is a South Sudanese politician who serves as the First Vice President of South Sudan.
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as the political wing of the Sudan People's Liberation Army in 1983. On January 9, 2005 the SPLA, SPLM and Government of Sudan signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, ending the civil war. SPLM then obtained representation in the Government of Sudan, and was the main constituent of the Government of the then semi-autonomous Southern Sudan. When South Sudan became a sovereign state on 9 July 2011, SPLM became the ruling party of the new republic. SPLM branches in Sudan separated themselves from SPLM, forming the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North. Further factionalism appeared as a result of the 2013-2014 South Sudanese Civil War, with President Salva Kiir leading the SPLM-Juba and former Vice President Riek Machar leading the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition.
The SPLA-Nasir was a splinter faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), a rebel group that fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War. Originally created as an attempt by the Nuer tribe to replace SPLA leader John Garang in August 1991, it gradually became coopted by the government. The break away of Riek Machar from SPLM/A resulted in Nuer ethnic group massacring Garang's ethnic Dinka from Bor in the Bor massacre in 1991. This split resulted in the 1994 National Convention of New Sudan in Chukudum.
Daniel Koat Mathews is a Sudanese politician and Nuer leader, who has been effectively involved in the national politics for many years. He is now a major general in the Sudan People's Liberation Army.
William Nyuon Bany was a Southern Sudanese politician who was also one of the founders of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). He was appointed third in command after John Garang and Kerubino Kuanyin Bol. While he worked as a commander of the SPLA he lived in Itang, a small Ethiopian town in the Gambela Region. In September 1992 he defected from the SPLA to join another faction under Riek Machar, but he rejoined the SPLA before he was assassinated on 13 January 1996.
Arok Thon Arok was a politician from Southern Sudan. He first served in the Sudanese military before he and others founded Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 1983. He defected to the Sudanese government after his dissatisfaction with the SPLA. He was therefore, given the 5th position in the high-ranking command of the SPLA before his defection.
Lieutenant General Nhial Deng Nhial is a South Sudanese politician and a member of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). He was Minister of Foreign Affairs 2011 to 2013 and 2018 to 2019 after having served as the caretaker Minister of Defense since 10 July 2011. Prior to that he served as the pre-independence South Sudanese Minister of SPLA and Veteran Affairs, from 22 December 2008 until 9 July 2011.
The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key participant of the Second Sudanese Civil War, led by John Garang. After Garang's death in 2005, Salva Kiir was named the SPLA's new Commander-in-Chief. As of 2010, the SPLA was divided into divisions of 10,000–14,000 soldiers.
Southern Sudan was an autonomous region consisting of the ten southern states of Sudan between its formation in July 2005 and independence as the Republic of South Sudan in July 2011. The autonomous government was initially established in Rumbek and later moved to Juba. It was bordered by Ethiopia to the east; Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south; and the Central African Republic to the west. To the north lies the predominantly Arab and Muslim region directly under the control of the central government. The region's autonomous status was a condition of a peace agreement between the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) and the Government of Sudan represented by the National Congress Party ending the Second Sudanese Civil War. The conflict was Africa's longest running civil war.
Abdelaziz Adam Al-Hilu is a Sudanese politician and the current chairperson of the Sudan People's Liberation Army - SPLA-North.
Garang Diing Akuong is a South Sudanese politician and diplomat.
The Juba Declaration of 8 January 2006, formally the Juba Declaration on Unity and Integration between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) And the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) 8 January 2006, laid out the basis for unifying rival military forces in South Sudan following the end of the Second Sudanese Civil War in January 2005.
Kerubino Kuanyin Bol was one of the founders of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and one of the leaders of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005). He was said to have fired the first shot in that conflict, which flared up when the Khartoum government of Sudan imposed Islamic law, or Sharia, across the whole country, including the southern region which in 2011 became the Republic of South Sudan. The people in this region mainly follow the Christianity and/or a traditional animist religion.
James Wani Igga is a South Sudanese politician who currently serves as the Vice President of South Sudan. He was Speaker of the National Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2013 and secretary general of the SPLM. On 30 May 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19.
Daniel Awet Akot is the deputy Speaker of the National Legislative Assembly of South Sudan.
Operation Thunderbolt was the codename for a military offensive by the South Sudanese SPLA rebel group and its allies during the Second Sudanese Civil War. The operation aimed at conquering several towns in Western and Central Equatoria, most importantly Yei, which served as strongholds for the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and helped the Sudanese government to supply its allies, the Ugandan insurgents of the WNBF and UNRF (II) based in Zaire. These pro-Sudanese forces were defeated and driven from Zaire by the SPLA and its allies, namely Uganda and the AFDL, in course of the First Congo War, thus allowing the SPLA launch Operation Thunderbolt from the Zairian side of the border. Covertly supported by expeditionary forces from Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, the SPLA's offensive was a major success, with several SAF garrison towns falling to the South Sudanese rebels in a matter of days. Yei was encircled and put under siege on 11 March 1997. At the same time, a large group of WNBF fighters as well as SAF, FAZ, and ex-Rwandan Armed Forces soldiers was trying to escape from Zaire to Yei. The column was ambushed and destroyed by the SPLA, allowing it to capture Yei shortly afterward. Following this victory, the South Sudanese rebels continued their offensive until late April, capturing several other towns in Equatoria and preparing further anti-government campaigns.
