South Sudan: Origins and Implications of Emerging (in)security Dynamic
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Emerging Security Dynamics in South Sudan.pdf 271K View Download |
On 9 January 2011 the people of South Sudan in all parts of the world voted in an historic referendum to decide the fate of the semi-autonomous region of the country then know as Sudan. The referendum was in fulfilment of one of the
major requirements of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which brought an end to more than two decades of hostilities between the North and South and one of Africa’s most violent civil wars – the second Sudan civil war. In the run-up to the referendum, a number of provocative political exchanges between the North and South, as well as logistical challenges, had cast doubt on the possible occurrence and peacefulness of the event. Its orderly and
generally peaceful nature therefore drew the commendations of the international community for the commitment of both the North and South to peace in Sudan. An overwhelming 98,83 per cent of Southern voters cast their ballots in favour of separation.
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Emerging Security Dynamics in South Sudan.pdf 271K View Download |
Doubts still existed among the international community in the immediate aftermath of the referendum due to suspicions about Khartoum’s possible response to the choice of separation. It therefore came as a pleasant relief when even before the official announcement of the results, President Omar al-Bashir declared his respect for the choice of the people of South Sudan. Days before the official declaration of the results and about a month after the start of the referendum, militias loyal to renegade General George Athor Deng clashed with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in Fangak county on 9 February.
The clashes claimed more than a hundred lives and displaced several thousand people. Athor’s rebellion was not new – its origins are traceable to the April 2010 elections. However, this attack was important because it registered the de facto breakdown of intra-South dialogue efforts initiated by the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) prior to the referendum. It also highlighted the existence of unfinished business in the attainment of a unified South for independence in July 2011. Since this incident, a number of other former SPLA generals have revolted and separately declared their intentions to topple the GoSS and to replace it with an all-inclusive broad-based government that is representative of the people of the South.
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Emerging Security Dynamics in South Sudan.pdf 271K View Download |
The situation has raised serious questions about the state of intra-South cohesion, the capacity of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the SPLA to provide security for Southerners, the SPLM’s ability to preside over and/or nurture….……….Read more
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Emerging Security Dynamics in South Sudan.pdf 271K View Download |
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