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Sudan
The Southern Problem
The origins of the civil war in the south date back to the 1950s.
On August 18, 1955, the Equatoria Corps, a military unit composed
of southerners, mutinied at Torit. Rather than surrender to Sudanese
government authorities, many mutineers disappeared into hiding
with their weapons, marking the beginning of the first war in
southern Sudan. By the late 1960s, the war had resulted in the
deaths of about 500,000 people. Several hundred thousand more
southerners hid in the forests or escaped to refugee camps in
neighboring countries.
By 1969 the rebels had developed foreign contacts to obtain weapons
and supplies. Israel, for example, trained Anya Nya recruits and
shipped weapons via Ethiopia and Uganda to the rebels. Anya Nya
also purchased arms from Congolese rebels and international arms
dealers with monies collected in the south and from among southern
Sudanese exile communities in the Middle East, Western Europe,
and North America. The rebels also captured arms, equipment, and
supplies from government troops.
Militarily, Anya Nya controlled much of the southern countryside
while government forces occupied the region's major towns. The
guerrillas operated at will from remote camps. However, rebel
units were too small and scattered to be highly effective in any
single area. Estimates of Anya Nya personnel strength ranged from
5,000 to 10,000.
Government operations against the rebels declined after the 1969
coup. However, when negotiations failed to result in a settlement,
Khartoum increased troop strength in the south to about 12,000
in 1969, and intensified military activity throughout the region.
Although the Soviet Union had concluded a US$100 million to US$150
million arms agreement with Sudan in August 1968, which included
T-55 tanks, armored personnel carriers, and aircraft, the nation
failed to deliver any equipment to Khartoum by May 1969. During
this period, Sudan obtained some Soviet-manufactured weapons from
Egypt, most of which went to the Sudanese air force. By the end
of 1969, however, the Soviet Union had shipped unknown quantities
of 85mm antiaircraft guns, sixteen MiG-21s, and five Antonov-24
transport aircraft. Over the next two years, the Soviet Union
delivered an impressive array of equipment to Sudan, including
T-54, T-55, T56 , and T-59 tanks; and BTR-40 and BTR-152 light
armored vehicles (see Foreign Military Assistance , ch. 5).
In 1971 Joseph Lagu, who had become the leader of southern forces
opposed to Khartoum, proclaimed the creation of the Southern Sudan
Liberation Movement (SSLM). Anya Nya leaders united behind him,
and nearly all exiled southern politicians supported the SSLM.
Although the SSLM created a governing infrastructure throughout
many areas of southern Sudan, real power remained with Anya Nya,
with Lagu at its head.
Despite his political problems, Nimeiri remained committed to
ending the southern insurgency. He believed he could stop the
fighting and stabilize the region by granting regional selfgovernment
and undertaking economic development in the south. By October
1971, Khartoum had established contact with the SSLM. After considerable
consultation, a conference between SSLM and Sudanese government
delegations convened at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 1972.
Initially, the two sides were far apart, the southerners demanding
a federal state with a separate southern government and an army
that would come under the federal president's command only in
response to an external threat to Sudan. Eventually, however,
the two sides, with the help of Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie,
reached an agreement.
The Addis Ababa accords guaranteed autonomy for a southern region--composed
of the three provinces of Equatoria (present-day Al Istiwai),
Bahr al Ghazal, and Upper Nile (present-day Aali an Nil)--under
a regional president appointed by the national president on the
recommendation of an elected Southern Regional Assembly. The High
Executive Council or cabinet named by the regional president would
be responsible for all aspects of government in the region except
such areas as defense, foreign affairs, currency and finance,
economic and social planning, and interregional concerns, authority
over which would be retained by the national government in which
southerners would be represented. Southerners, including qualified
Anya Nya veterans, would be incorporated into a 12,000-man southern
command of the Sudanese army under equal numbers of northern and
southern officers. The accords also recognized Arabic as Sudan's
official language, and English as the south's principal language,
which would be used in administration and would be taught in the
schools.
Although many SSLM leaders opposed the settlement, Lagu approved
its terms and both sides agreed to a cease-fire. The national
government issued a decree legalizing the agreement and creating
an international armistice commission to ensure the well-being
of returning southern refugees. Khartoum also announced an amnesty,
retroactive to 1955. The two sides signed the Addis Ababa accords
on March 27, 1972, which was thereafter celebrated as National
Unity Day.
Data as of June 1991
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