Sudan SSDF SPLA dissidents Nuer White Army Ugandan insurgents: Zaire (1994–1997)[5][6] al-Qaeda (1991–1996)[7][8][irrelevant citation] Iraq[a] China[b]

Wars in Sudan are often characterized as fights between the central government expanding and dominating peoples of the periphery, raising allegations of marginalization.

[29] Some sources describe the conflict as an ethnoreligious one where the Arab-Muslim central government's pursuits to impose Sharia law in 1983 on non-Muslim southerners led to violence, and eventually to the civil war.

The British moved towards granting Sudan independence, but did not invite southern Sudanese leaders to participate in negotiations during the transitional period in the 1950s.

Due to the numerous tributaries of the Nile river and heavier precipitation in the south of Sudan, it has superior water access and more fertile land.

[39] Islamic fundamentalists in the north had been discontented with the Addis Ababa Agreement, which gave relative autonomy to the non-Islamic majority Southern Sudan Autonomous Region.

Among the first acts of the new government was to suspend the 1983 constitution, rescind the decree declaring Sudan's intent to become an Islamic state, and disband Nimeiry's Sudanese Socialist Union.

In consultation with an informal conference of political parties, unions, and professional organizations—known as the "Gathering"—the military council appointed an interim civilian cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Dr. Al-Jazuli Daf'allah.

This coalition dissolved and reformed several times over the next few years, with Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and his Umma Party always in a central role.

In that year the SPLA and a number of Sudanese political parties met in Ethiopia and agreed to the "Koka Dam" declaration, which called for abolishing Islamic Sharia law and convening a constitutional conference.

In 1988, the SPLA and the DUP agreed on a peace plan calling for the abolition of military pacts with Egypt and Libya, freezing of Sharia law, an end to the state of emergency, and a cease-fire.

[50] At the same time, the SPLA ruthlessly crushed all internal and external opposition as far as possible, including other rebel factions such as the Anyanya II insurgents[51] and critics in its own ranks.

[52] In August 1991, internal dissent among the rebels led opponents of Garang's leadership, most importantly Riek Machar and Lam Akol, to attempt a coup against him.

On 15 November 1991, Machar's SPLA-Nasir alongside the Nuer White Army carried out the Bor massacre, killing an estimated 2000 Dinka civilians.

On 5 April 1993, the three dissident rebel factions announced a coalition of their groups called SPLA United at a press conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

Since 1993, the leaders of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya have pursued a peace initiative for Sudan under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), but results have been mixed.

Despite that record, the IGAD initiative promulgated the 1994 Declaration of Principles (DOP) that aimed to identify the essential elements necessary to a just and comprehensive peace settlement; i.e. the relationship between religion and the state, power-sharing, wealth-sharing, and the right of self-determination for the south.

[54] By 1997, seven groups in the government camp, led by former Garang lieutenant Riek Machar, signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement with the NIF, thereby forming the largely symbolic South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) umbrella.

[citation needed] Nevertheless, the SPLA made major advances in 1997 due to the success of Operation Thunderbolt, an offensive during which the southern Sudanese separatists seized most of Central and Western Equatoria from the government.

Southern critics objected to the joint initiative because it neglected to address issues of the relationship between religion and the state and failed to mention the right of self-determination.

Some critics viewed it as more aimed at a resolution among northern political parties and protecting the perceived security interests of Egypt over the unity of Sudan.

Peace talks between the southern rebels and the government made substantial progress in 2003 and early 2004, although skirmishes in parts of the south continued.

According to a United Nations report, an estimated 430 children were victims of sexual violence through military recruitment in South Sudan.

Specifically, Krouse's article explains how communal violence in South Sudan is intensified and prolonged by the broader instability and regional crises.

Tensions between the North Sudanese government and the SPLA continued decades after the first wave of displaced peoples fled from South Sudan.

Women organized food drives, cooked meals, delivered supplies, cared for the wounded, parented orphans, and assisted the elderly.

[74] The US, UN, and other donors attempted to mount a coordinated international relief effort in both north and south Sudan to prevent a catastrophe.

In 2004, James Disco and Susan Clark created the graphic novel "Echoes of the Lost Boys", which tells the story of four South Sudanese young men as they integrate into American society.

Valentino Achak Deng is a fictionalized South Sudanese refugee that came to the United States under the Lost Boys of Sudan Program.

These works highlight the continued struggles of people affected by the Second Sudanese Civil War as they attempt to integrate themselves in foreign societies.