2 Company, Equatoria Corps, led by Daniel Jumi Tongun and Marko Rume, both of the Karo ethnic group, mutinied against the British administration on August 18.

[1] Although the insurrection was suppressed, it ushered in a period of instability characterized by guerrilla activity, banditry, and political tensions between north and south that eventually escalated to full-scale civil war with the Anyanya rebellion in 1963.

When the liberal Elia Kuze visited Yambio on July 26 to demonstrate his support for the workers, he was arrested, tried and sentenced to seven years in prison for civil disobedience and attempted popular mobilization.

Meanwhile, al-Azhari and his delegation acknowledged that a rift still existed between the peoples of the South and North, but they saw the southerners as rebellious and subversive elements that should be dealt with "an iron fist".

As the state of insecurity continued to deteriorate in the South, rumors spread among the public and the organized forces about the Sudan government's plans to dissolve the Equatoria Corps.

This southern battalion that had fought against the Germans and Italians in World War II was one of the greatest symbols of prestige and honor for the people of the South.

The rumors originated from an alleged telegram from Prime Minister Ismail al-Azhari in which he threatened the administrators of the three southern provinces with disbanding their military corps and prosecuting anyone who did not follow his orders.

A week later, the Khartoum government ordered the evacuation of the officers' wives and children, which southern troops interpreted as a prelude to a plan to exterminate South Sudanese soldiers.

[7] On August 16, the Sudanese government voted unanimously to complete the evacuation of foreign troops and consecrate its full independence, scheduled for January 1, 1956.

Tongun warned Torit's soldiers against premature execution and advised the NCOs to wait for the return of key members of parliament from the south, such as Benjamin Lwoki and Buth Dui, to brief them on the political situation in the country prior to the rebellion.

On August 18, when Torit's troops were told to board the trucks for Khartoum, they refused and immediately attacked the northern officers and stormed the armory to secure weapons and ammunition.

Desperate for heavy weapons and ammunition, they continued to send messages to Nairobi, where the British finally responded after the fourth telegram but condemned the mutiny.

He reported that soldiers in Meridi had mutinied and that civilians were being attacked, and claimed that the governors of Wau and Malakal urgently needed troops to help them.

Sir Knox Helm, still head of state, intervened and ordered the RAF to transport 8,000 Northern troops to the South and sent T. W. H. Luce, former Lieutenant Governor of Equatoria, with a proposal of peace terms to the rebels.