South Sudan–Uganda relations

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South Sudanese-Ugandan relations
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South Sudan and Uganda are neighboring states with strong cultural economic and political ties. The South Sudan and the neighbouring state of Uganda enjoy relatively[ vague ] strong cultural, political, and economic ties. As South Sudan neared independence, both states begun to take advantage of increased opportunities for trade, development and educational exchanges. The rebel group Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), however, continues to operate in the border areas between South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.

Contents

Political ties

Political relationship between South Sudan and Uganda have been friendly for several decades, in contrast to Kampala's relationships with the Khartoum government, which have often been strained. One reason for this is that Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, is alleged to have provided support to the LRA, which terrorized northern Uganda for many years. [1] [2]

Uganda's longtime President, Yoweri Museveni, was a personal friend of South Sudan rebel leader John Garang and supported the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), which fought for the region's independence. A day before South Sudan voted on a cessation referendum, Museveni came out vocally for separation, saying, "…unity should be principled unity; not unity based on suppression and inequality." [3]

Two weeks after the ouster of Sudan's Omar al-Bashir, Uganda's foreign minister Okello Oryem, has announced that his country may offer Bashir refuge. [4]

Economic ties

South Sudan has emerged in recent years as the largest importer of Ugandan goods. [5] Over 150,000 Ugandan traders operate across the border, generating an estimated $900 million in business. [6] South Sudan relies heavily on its neighbors to provide goods such as construction materials and services such as skilled and unskilled labor. [7] Approximately 1,500 Ugandans work in Southern Sudan in the construction industry, and 1,200 Ugandan professional are employed there with non-governmental organizations, ministries and industries. [6]

The governments of Uganda and Southern Sudan have taken steps to strengthen economies ties, including a joint project to construct a state-of-the-art market in Juba, estimated to cost around $850,000. [8]

Challenges to Ugandan trade and business in Southern Sudan include concerns over corruption and discrimination, poor road conditions, and language barriers. Construction is underway on a railroad line that will link Juba and parts of northern Uganda.

Educational exchange

Over 100,000 students from Southern Sudan are currently attending school in Uganda [6] and thousands more are expected to pursue undergraduate and graduate education in Kenya and Uganda in coming years. [7] At the same time, many teachers from Kenya and Uganda have come to Southern Sudan to teach, given the region's shortage of professionally trained educators.

Border disputes

A border dispute emerged in 2005 between communities in the Kajo-Keji county of South Sudan and the Ugandan district of Moyo. Tensions and incidents of violence along the border forced the suspension of a project to construct a road and a communications tower in the area. [9] The presidents of Uganda and the South Sudan region met in November 2010 to promote the peaceful resolution of the dispute, but an agreement has not yet been reached. Surveyors from Uganda are expected to inspect the border in 2011. [10]

On October 27, 2020, the SSPDF and the UPDF clashed near Pogee, Magwi County, in South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria State, leaving two South Sudanese soldiers dead. Both sides believed they were on their country's side of the border. [11] [12] [13]

Lord's Resistance Army

Based on an agreement with the government in Khartoum, Ugandan military forces entered Southern Sudan in 2002 to fight LRA rebels. The agreement expired in 2006 and was not formally renewed by the Southern Sudan regional government, but Ugandan military operations were allowed to continue. [14] A rift developed over appropriate strategy when Joseph Kony, leader of the LRA, refused to appear twice to sign peace agreements. In June 2008, relations between South Sudan and Uganda became further strained when Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) soldiers were accused of posing as LRA rebels and killing and kidnapping civilians in the Nabanga area. Following this incident, Southern Sudan demanded that Uganda withdraw its troops from its territory. [14] Nevertheless, in 2008-9 troops from Uganda, South Sudan and Congo launched the joint Garamba Offensive in the Democratic Republic of Congo in an effort to eliminate the LRA militarily. [15]

The LRA's strength is estimated to now be in the hundreds, and the LRA presence has largely been removed from Northern Uganda. But the LRA continues to launch attacks in Western Equatoria and Western Bahr El Ghazal States of Southern Sudan. As of April 2011, 14 attacks have resulted in 10 deaths and 29 abductions. [16] The SPLA has armed and trained local community defense organizations, called Arrow Boys, to protect villages in areas of Southern Sudan still affected by the rebel group. [17]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equatoria</span> Region in South Sudan

Equatoria is the southernmost region of South Sudan, along the upper reaches of the White Nile and the border between South Sudan and Uganda. Juba, the national capital and the largest city in South Sudan, is located in Equatoria. Originally a province of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, it also contained most of northern parts of present-day Uganda, including Lake Albert and West Nile. It was an idealistic effort to create a model state in the interior of Africa that never consisted of more than a handful of adventurers and soldiers in isolated outposts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Garang</span> Sudanese politician (1945–2005)

Dr. John Garang De Mabior was a Sudanese politician and revolutionary leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement as a commander in chief during the Second Sudanese Civil War. He briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan for three weeks, from the comprehensive peace agreement of 2005 until his death in a helicopter crash on July 30, 2005. A developmental economist by profession, Garang was one of the major influence on the movement that led to the foundation of South Sudan independence from the rule of the government of Omar Bashir the former president of Sudan (Khartoum).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudan People's Liberation Movement</span> Political party in South Sudan

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement 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, the SPLM and the 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord's Resistance Army insurgency (1994–2002)</span>

The start of the period 1994 to 2002 of the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency in northern Uganda saw the conflict intensifying due to Sudanese support to the rebels. There was a peak of bloodshed in the mid-1990s and then a gradual subsiding of the conflict. Violence was renewed beginning with the offensive by the Uganda People's Defence Force in 2002.

The period from 2000 to 2006 of the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency in northern Uganda begins with the assault of the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) upon LRA strongholds in South Sudan. This in turn led to a series of retaliatory attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army of an intensity not seen to since the mid-1990s. International awareness of the conflict gradually grew and in September 2005, the International Criminal Court issues warrants for the arrest of senior LRA commanders, including Joseph Kony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006–2008 Juba talks</span>

The Juba talks were a series of negotiations between the government of Uganda and the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group over the terms of a ceasefire and possible peace agreement. The talks, held in Juba, the capital of autonomous Southern Sudan, began in July 2006 and were mediated by Riek Machar, the Vice President of Southern Sudan. The talks, which had resulted in a ceasefire by September 2006, were described as the best chance ever for a negotiated settlement to the 20-year-old war. However, LRA leader Joseph Kony refused to sign the peace agreement in April 2008. Two months later, the LRA carried out an attack on a Southern Sudanese town, prompting the Government of Southern Sudan to officially withdraw from their mediation role.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SPLA-Nasir</span> South Sudanese guerrilla organisation (1991–2002)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magwi County</span> County in Equatoria, South Sudan

Magwi County, also Magwe County, is a county in Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lord's Resistance Army</span> Christian terrorist multinational organization

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a Christian extremist organization operating in Central Africa and East Africa. Its origins were in the Ugandan insurgency (1986–1994) against President Yoweri Museveni during which Joseph Rao Kony founded the LRA in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Sudan People's Defence Forces</span> Combined military forces of South Sudan

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.

The 2008–2009 Garamba offensive started on 14 December 2008, when joint Ugandan, DR Congolese and Southern Sudanese forces launched a botched military attack against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Garamba region of DR Congo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Sudan Autonomous Region (2005–2011)</span> Pre-independence region of ten states

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.

The history of South Sudan comprises the history of the territory of present-day South Sudan and the peoples inhabiting the region.

The South Sudan Democratic Movement (SSDM), sometimes called the South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army (SSDM/A), was a South Sudanese militant group. Along with its armed wing, the South Sudan Defence Army (SSDA), rebelled against the government of South Sudan led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Sudanese Civil War</span> 2013–2020 civil war in South Sudan

The South Sudanese Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and 10 others of attempting a coup d'état. Machar denied trying to start a coup and fled to lead the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO). Fighting broke out between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and SPLM-IO, igniting the civil war. Ugandan troops were deployed to fight alongside the South Sudanese government. The United Nations has peacekeepers in the country as part of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Salvation Front (South Sudan)</span> Militant group in South Sudan

The National Salvation Front (NAS) is a South Sudanese militant group led by Thomas Cirillo which has been fighting against the government of South Sudan since March 2017.

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 the course of the First Congo War, thus allowing the SPLA to 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.

This article lists events from the year 2019 in South Sudan

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Sudan People's Movement/Army</span>

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References

  1. ↑ Norris, John (11 March 2010). "Sudan is still up to no good". Foreign Policy.
  2. ↑ "Ugandan president does not condemn ICC indictments against Sudan's Bashir". Sudan Tribune. August 2, 2008.
  3. ↑ Murumba, George (10 January 2011). "Museveni backs independence for South Sudan". Uganda Correspondent.
  4. ↑ Omar al Bashir: Uganda may offer ousted Sudan leader refuge despite ICC warrant
  5. ↑ Natha, Benard (April 5, 2011). "Kenya, Uganda Salivating At South Sudan Prospects". The Citizen (Dar es Salaam).
  6. 1 2 3 Womakuyu, Frederick. "Locals Earning Big From Trade With Southern Sudan". The New Vision.
  7. 1 2 Muga, Wycliffe (March 18, 2011). "Viewpoint: South Sudan jobs for Kenyans and Ugandans". BBC News Africa.
  8. ↑ "South Sudan Becoming Significant Trading Partner - Uganda Envoy". Sudan Tribune. October 20, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Local authorities fail to solve Sudan-Uganda boundary dispute". Durham University, International Boundaries Research Unit. December 15, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Uganda and South Sudan to discuss border row". Africa.World247.net. November 20, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Four Killed in South Sudan-Uganda Border Skirmish | Voice of America - English". www.voanews.com. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  12. ↑ "SSPDF and UPDF clash, 2 dead, 1 captured". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  13. ↑ "Army buries two soldiers after clashes with UPDF". Radio Tamazuj. Retrieved 2020-11-02.
  14. 1 2 Mulumba, Badru (10 July 2008). "South Sudan Falls Out With Uganda". Institute for War and Peace Reporting (178).
  15. ↑ Among, Ay Barbara (March 13, 2009). "Ninety Days of War in Garamba Forest". The New Vision.
  16. ↑ UN OCHA. "LRA Regional Update: DRC, CAR and southern Sudan - January - March 2011" (PDF).
  17. ↑ Martell, Peter (September 27, 2010). "South Sudan to arm militias against Uganda rebels". Archived from the original on February 21, 2014.
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