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 and allied with the Sudanese government.

[1] The Second Sudanese Civil War had begun in 1983 as a response to the status of the underdeveloped South Sudan in relation to the administrative and economic center of Khartoum.

The southern rebel groups quickly became dominated by the Sudan People's Liberation Army under John Garang, an ethnic Dinka.

Riek and Lam were joined in their announcement by Gordon Kong Chuol, a former Anyanya II commander who had advocated secession and had also been allied with the government.

Nasir forces briefly occupied Twic East county, deep in Dinka territory, in November and December, resulting in clear attacks aimed at killing and displacing civilians.

In September 1991, Lam established contact with government representative Ali al-Hajj Muhammad, who funneled money through SPLA-Nasir's Nairobi office.

Similarly, an SPLA-Nasir representative was sent to Khartoum to set up a liaison office, where he met Omar al-Bashir, Hassan al-Turabi and army commanders.

In an attempt to cause a similar split in the north, Torit forces were put under the command of Daud Bolad and sent to start an insurgency in Darfur, western Sudan.

Sources within SPLA-Nasir present a picture in which the leaders thought they could use government support tactically to quickly overthrow Garang, while maintaining an anti-government strategy.

[8] The split in the southern rebel movement and SPLA-Nasir support allowed the government to regain the initiative and seize territory it had previously lost.

In the 1992 government offensive, troops moved freely through SPLA-Nasir territory and regained parts of Jonglei and East Equatoria by July.

[11] Also, at the beginning of 1993, Nyuon moved south and established lines of communication with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel group active in northern Uganda.

Khartoum resumed full scale operations for the 1994 dry season, but SPLA-Torit had begun to regain the initiative as their diplomatic climate improved and increasing signs of economic and social strain in the north from the war.