South Sudan

Republic of South Sudan

The Republic of South Sudan became an independent state in July 2011, following protracted periods of civil war with the govenrment of Sudan that began in the 1950s and ended only in 2005. The First Sudanese Civil War (also known as the Anyanya Rebellion) lasted from 1955 until 1972, pitting the armed forces of the Sudanese government against a coalition of southern Sudanese fighters known variously as the Southern Sudan Liberation Movement, Azania Liberation Front, and the Anyanya Equatorial Corps. Cessation of hostilities brought about the formation of the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region, which existed from 1972 until 1983, but fighting again broke out between the north and south leading to a Second Sudanese Civil War. This latter conflict, lasting from 1983 until 2005, claimed the lives of more than two million people resulting from war, famine and the rampant spread of disease. The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) emerged as the military wing of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, working towards complete autonomy and independence from the government of (north) Sudan. The SPLA were supported militarily by Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Uganda, all of whom sent military personnel to Sudan in 1995. Peace talks that began in 2003 ultimately led to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed on 9 January 2005. The Sudanese government withdrew all of its troops from southern Sudan in 2008.

The SPLA has formed the basis of the newly constituted Armed Forces of Southern Sudan, consisting largely of ground forces supplemented by a small Air Force. As of 2012, the formation process is still ongoing.