South Sudan’s Historical Chronology

The Worlds soon to be 196th Country gets independence on July 9th. Just wanted to share with you just a few snippets about the events leading to South Sudan’s independence;

– 1983: Sudanese president Gaafar al-Nimeiry rescinds a 1972 agreement under which southern Sudan enjoyed internal autonomy. This implies the introduction of Islamic sharia law in the region, rekindles an independence movement led by John Garang and his Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

– 1989: Omar al-Bashir ousts Nimeiry in a coup. He remains in power todate.

– January 2005: North and South sign a US-brokered ceasefire agreement providing for a period of autonomy for the South followed by a referendum on full independence in 2011. The region around the town of Abyei, which has oil and is claimed by both south and north, is given a special status.

– July 2005: Garang is killed in a helicopter crash. He is replaced as southern leader by Salva Kiir.

– 2008: Fighting in Abyei between troops from Southern Sudan and those of the central government in Khartoum.

– 2009: An international arbitration court in The Hague sets new borders for the region around Abyei, attributing its main oil fields to the north.

– April 2010: Sudan holds its first multi-party elections since 1986. Kiir becomes the south’s first elected president.
– October 2010: Talks between north and south fail to produce an agreement on the future status of Abyei.

– January 2011: South Sudan holds its independence referendum, with almost 99 percent voting in favor. Plans are laid for the region to split from Khartoum and become fully independent on July 9.

– April 2011: Bashir says he will not recognize the south’s independence if it insists on claims over Abyei.

– May 21: Northern Sudanese troops backed by tanks seize Abyei town and its environs.

– June 5: Clashes between northern and southern troops in the province of South Kordofan, which borders the south and is the only major oil-producing region attributed to the north.

– June 12: North-south talks sponsored by the African Union open in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. The two sides agree in principle to demilitarize Abyei.

– June 15: New clashes erupt in Abyei.

Eight: Sudan: A Historical Perspective (from the Sudan.net)

Man has lived in the Sudan for at least nine million years and the valley of the Nile which wanders more than 4,000 miles from the lakes of Central Africa to the Mediterranean may well he the cradle of civilisation rather than the Euphrates. About four centuries before Christ the Ox-driven water wheel which still plays a vital role in the country’s economy, was introduced to the Sudan. At the same time came camels, brought with them by the Persians when Cambyses invaded Egypt in 525 BC.

Homer knew of the Sudan and his countrymen visited it, to barter cloth, wine and trinkets for gum arabic, spices and slaves. Nero sent a reconnaissance expedition far up the river but the commander’s experience with the “sudd” (Arabic for obstruction), a vast and impenetrable papyrus swamp in the southern Sudan, dissuaded the emperor from any thought of conquest. During the reign of Justinian, many Sudanese kingdoms were converted to Christianity and churches dotted the sweep of the Nile until the spread of Islam in the XVIth century.

Modern Sudanese history owes much to Napoleon. It was the victory in 1797, at the battle of the Pyramids which shook the power of the Mamelukes, the Caucasian ruling class of Egypt, and paved the way for the rise to power of the Albenian soldier of fortune Muhammad Mi.

Muhammad Mi sent his third son Ismail at the head of 10,000 men across the desert and, by 1821, all of north and central Sudan was his. For the first time, the Sudan- the name means “Land of Blacks” – began to take shape as a political entity.

Salvation was to come from the desert. Muhammad Ahmad, the son of a Dongola boat-builder, was born in 1844. He grew into a soft-spoken mystic and soon retired to Aba Island, 150 miles south of Khartoum, to live the life of a religious recluse, proclaiming himself in 1881 to be the Mahdi, the second great prophet. The tribes of the west rallied to the Mahdi’s call for a war against the infidels and despots and, early in 1884, the Mahdi was master of all Sudan save Khartoum.

Britain, who meanwhile had moved into Egypt, resolved that the Sudan could not be held, and sent General Charles Gordon to evacuate Khartoum. No man could have been more ill-fitted for the job, and after 317 days the Mahdi’s dervish hordes overran the city’s defences and razed Khartoum.

Five months after the fall of Khartoum, the Mahdi died of typhus; he was succeeded by Khalifa Abdallah. Hardly had he come to power when the Sudan was plunged in a series of civil wars. In September 1898 the Anglo-Egyptian force led by General Herbert Kitchener met the Khalifa’s 60,000 warriors on an open plain outside Omdurman, the new Sudanese city built across the Nile. Khalifa’s casualties comprised 10,800 killed and 16.000 wounded, and Kitchener entered Omdurman as a conqueror.

On January 19, 1899 Britain and Egypt signed a condominium agreement under which the Sudan was to be administered jointly. In the twelve ensuing years, the Sudan’s revenue had increased seventeen fold, its expenditure tripled, and its budget reached a balanced state which was to be maintained until 1960. Mounting Egyptian nationalism in the period after World War I culminated in 1924 in the assassination in the streets of Cairo of Sir Lee Stack, Governor – General of the Sudan; British reaction resulted in the expulsion of all Egyptian officials from the Sudan.

After the Anglo-Egyptian “entente” of 1936. a few Egyptians were allowed to return to the country in minor posts. But the signing of the 1936 agreement stimulated Sudanese nationalists who objected both to the return of the Egyptians and to the fact that other nations were deciding their destiny. Expression of this feeling was seen in the formation of the Graduates’ Congress, under the leadership of Ismail al-Azhari.

POLITICAL PARTIES

By 1945, two political parties had emerged. The National Unionist Party led by al-Azhari, demanded union of the Sudan and Egypt; it had the support of Sayed Sir Ali al- Mirghani, head of a powerful religious sect. The Umma Party, backed by Sayed Sir Abdur-Rahman al-Mahdi demanded unqualified independence and no links with Egypt.

END OF CONDOMINIUM 

On February 12, 1953, Britain and Egypt signed an accord ending the condominium arrangement and agreeing to grant Sudan self government within three years. The agreement also provided for a senate for the Sudan, a Council of Ministers, and a House of Representatives, elections to which was to be supervised by an international commission.

The elections, which were held during November and December 1953, resulted in victory for the NUP, and its leader, Ismail al-Aihari, became the Sudan’s first Prime Minister in January 1954. The replacement of British and Egyptian officers in the Sudanese civil service by Sudanese nationals followed rapidly.

INDEPENDENCE 
On December 19, 1955, the Parliament voted unanimously that the Sudan should become “a fully independent sovereign state”. British and Egyptian troops left the country on January 1, 1956; the same day a five-man Council of State was appointed to take over the powers of the governor general until a new constitution was agreed.

Two years, later, on 17 November 1958 a bloodless army coup led by General Ibrahim Abboud toppled the Government of al-Azhari. On his assuming power, General Abboud declared that he would rule through a thirteen member army junta and that democracy was being suspended in the Sudan in the name of “honesty and integrity”.

TROUBLE IN THE SOUTH 
In 1966, Sadik al-Mahdi, the 30 year old president of the Umma party, took over as Prime Minister. Internally the security situation in the southern Sudan continued to cause anxiety; successive Prime Ministers visited the South in April and October but neither threats nor blandishments succeeded in curbing the rebels.

The Ministry for Southern Affairs sought to restore normal life to those parts of the southern provinces under government control, but there was little or no security in Equatoria Province and the armed forces launched a major offensive against the rebel camps there in October 1970.

The war ended officially in March 1972, when Colonel Numeiry signed a peace pact with Major-General Lagu, the Leader of the Anya-Nya rebels in the south.

INTERNAL TURMOIL 
In July 1976, President Numeiry survived the most serious threat so far to his eight-year-old regime. A coup attempt, masterminded by former finance minister Hussein alHindi and former prime minister Sadik al-Mahdi, both in exile, involved the infiltration of some 2,000 heavily armed civilians into Khartoum and Omdurman. The rebels caused much destruction, including the immobilizing of Sudan’s Air Force on the ground.

Retribution was quick and severe, 98 were executed for their part in the plot, and several hundred were imprisoned. The July coup attempt brought Sudan closer to its two most powerful neighbors. A mutual defence pact was signed with Egypt immediately after the attempt, and this was followed by tripartite talks with Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

INDUSTRIAL UNREST (1981) 
Industrial unrest in Sudan in 1981 included a national strike by the country’s 43,000 railway and river transport workers in early June in support of a pay claim. After the SSU secretariat had on June 14 condemned the strike as politically motivated and as a “conspiracy directed from abroad”. On June 16, President Numeiry ordered the security forces to arrest the “saboteurs” responsible for the strike and decreed new measures to ban work stoppages and to bring all trade unions under the closer “supervision” of the SSU (Sudan Socialist Union).

Since 1971 Sudan has moved from close friendship with the USSR towards firmer lies with the West and the Arab world. This new direction in external relations has been matched by a change in internal economic policy. Nationalization of private and foreign-owned businesses was reversed in 1973 with many confiscated businesses being returned to private ownership.

INTRODUCTION OF ISLAMIC LAW 
President Jaafer Mohammed al-Numeiry announced on Sept.8, 1983 that the penal code had been revised in order to link it “organically and spiritually” with Islamic Law (Sharia). Theft, adultery, murder and related offences would hence forth be judged according to the Koran, and alcohol and gambling were both prohibited; non-Moslems, however, would be exempt from Koranic penalties except when convicted of murder or theft.

The inauguration of the new code was marked by a ceremony in the capital, Khartoum, on Sept.23, presided over by President Numeiry, in which stocks of alcohol were dumped in the river Nile. The introduction of the new code followed a thorough reform of the judicial system announced by President Numeiry in June 1983.

STRIKES 
Schools in Khartoum were closed on Aug.28 1983 following student protests concerning social conditions in the capital, which had suffered a series of power cuts throughout August. A strike by doctors began on March 1, 1984, in protest over low pay and the deteriorating situation in the health service. All 2,000 of the country’s doctors tendered their resignation on March 8 to be effective from March24. The government rejected the resignations, however, and declared the doctors’ union to be illegal. The union was subsequently reinstated.

TIME OF CHANGE 
when a rising tide of refugees briefly provoked rioting in the city of Port Sudan in 1982, Sudanese President Gaafar Numeiry came under mounting pressure from some members of his government to close his nation’s borders. Numeiry would have none of it. During a climatic Cabinet debate on the issue, he dramatically invoked the ancient Arab tradition of hospitality toward strangers. They are the guests of Sudan”, he said.

By February 1985 there were about 1 million refugees in the country, and their number could swell beyond 2 million, in 1986, according to relief officials. A spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees has described the situation as rapidly becoming “a disaster of major proportions”.

By March 1985, some 500 metric tons of relief goods have been airlifted into Eastern Sudan on flights financed or provided by the United States of America, Sweden and by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Items delivered include 20,000 tents, 83,000 blankets, 19,000 water containers, 7 water tanks, 6 water storage tanks (50,000 litre capacity), 61,000 doses of oral rehydration salts, disinfectants, 10 emergency relief kits (to cover the needs of 100,000 persons for three months), refrigerators for medicines, 100,000 doses of measles vaccine 3 500 drums of fuel, 65 tons of high protein energy foods, 3 pre-fabricated warehouses and 10 additional vehicles. Further items have been made available in kind, particularly by agencies currently working in Sudan.

On the basis of the present caseload estimates, the United Nations high Commissioner for Refugees’s financial requirements (other than basic food) for the relief program amounted as of 11 January 1985 to US$ 14,526,000.

One of President Numeiry’s trickiest political problems has been the arrival among the refugees of Ethiopian Jews, called Falashas (the Amharic word for strangers). The remnants of an ancient tribe that has kept alive Jewish religious practices, these Ethiopians became the object of a secret evacuation by Israel, code-named Operation Moses. According to various estimates, between 3,000 and 7,000 of them reached Israel before word of the rescue operation leaked out. Numeiry, whose government is a member of the Arab League and has no diplomatic relations with Israel, was embarrassed by the spotlight on Sudan co-operation in the re-settlement and ordered the airlift cut off. That left several thousand Falashas still in Sudan, many with relatives in Israel.

Numeiry quickly came under intense pressure from Western governments to find a way to help the Falashas on humanitarian grounds. In February 1985 a senior Sudanese official got in touch with the refugee commission in Geneva to discuss its possible role in evacuating the Falashas. One major setback to the program is the fact that the Falasha refugees in Sudan have blended into the anonymity of the camps and are sharing in the tragic fate of its occupants.

Once regarded as the potential bread basket of the Arab world, Sudan has in four years gone from being an exporter to an importer of its sorghum, a grain like staple crop. Through a combination of bad weather and overgrazing of arable land production fell from 3.4 million tons in 1981 to 1.3 million tons in 1984. The result has been bread shortages throughout the country, even in the capital of Khartoum.

In the troubled southern Sudan, an almost two-year old guerrilla war waged by the members of the Southern Sudan People’s liberation Army has spread from the Upper Nile and Bahr El Ghazal regions to Equatoria. The rebels, who are mostly Christians and animists, have chafed under domination for years and especially object to the Islamic law imposed by Numeiry in 1983.

Their major victory has so far been to interrupt, by killing, or by capturing non-Sudanese workers, two major economic projects: oil fields under exploration by Chevron Oil Co., and the Jonglei Canal in southern Sudan.

Washington has kept a scrupulously correct distance from any involvement in the insurgency problem. This is despite the fact that it views the Sudan as a strategically important nation, both as protector of the southern flank of Egypt its primary Arab ally, and as a possible staging ground for any military operations mounted to protect the Middle East’s oil fields.

In early 1985 discontent with Numeiry’s regime had been growing and in April while in visit to the USA, he was deposed in a military coup led by Lt. Gen. Swar Al Dahab, who after a period, passed the reigns of government to civilian rule, headed by Sadiq Al Mahdi. Again in 1988 and early 1989 following farther discontent in the country and within the military, another bloodless coup d’etat took place on June 30, 1989 led by Brig. Omar Hassan ‘Ahmed El Bashir who formed a 15 member Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation. Head of State, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, he quickly dismantled civilian rule, constitution was suspended, and the National Assembly and all political institutions were dissolved. In mid October 1993 Brig. Omar Hassan Ahmed El Bashir dissolved the Revolutionary Command Council; and on October 30 announced the formation of a new government. Further changes took place until the last reshuffle in the Cabinet in December 1996.

SUDAN HISTORICAL TIMELINE

A time line overview of big and small events in the history of Sudan.

Please note: the current situation in Sudan is EXTREMELY complicated and this outline of the historic background can not give the full image. The page is only an attempt of a general overview and still under construction!

MODERN TIME SUDAN

1820: Sudan is conquered by Turkey and Egypt.

1881: Rebellion against the Turkish-Egyptian administration.

1882: The British invade Sudan.

1885: An Islamic state is founded in Sudan.

1899: Sudan is governed by British-Egyptian rule.

1955: Revolt and start of the civil war.

INDEPENDENCE

1956: Sudan gains independence.

1958: A military coup takes place in Sudan. The civilian government is removed.

1962: The civil war breaks out in the southern (mainly Christian/African) parts of Sudan.

October 1964: People of Sudan rebels. The military junta falls after a communist general strike. A national government is formed.

May 1969: New military coup placing Jaafar Numeiri at power.

1971: Leaders of the communist party are executed for attempting a coup against Numeiri.

1972: A peace agreement is signed in Addis Ababa. The southern Sudan achieves partly self-governance.

INGREDIENTS FOR WAR: OIL AND SHARIA

1978: Large findings of oil are made in Bentiu, southern Sudan. The oil becomes an important factor in the strife between North and South.

1983: Numieri introduces the Islamic Sharia law to Sudan leading to a new breakout of the civil war in the Christian south. In the south the forces are led by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) under command by John Garang.

1985: President Numieri is removed from power in a military coup.

1986: A civilian government is made in an effort to restore peace after general elections.

1989: Al-Bashir and his Islamic Front (NIC) takes power in a military coup.

1995: The Sudanese government are accused of being part of an attempt on the life of Egyptian prime minister Mubarak. UN decides on sanctions against Sudan.

US ATTACK ON SUDAN

1998: USA launches a missile attack on a chemical plant in Khartoum assumed to develop chemical weapons possibly in coorporation with the Al’Qaeeda terror network. Civilians are killed in the attack. The Sudanese government denies any link to terror and chemical weapons.

1998: A new constitution in Sudan.

1999: The president dissolves the national assembly and declares state of emergency.

1999: Sudan start an export of oil assisted by China, Canada, Sweden and other countries.

2001: An internal struggle in thegovernment, leads to the arrest of an ideological leader who were making peace attempts with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA)

March 2001: Hunger and famine in Sudan affects 3 million people.

May 2001: A Danish pilot flying for the International Red Cross is attacked and killed when delivering aid in southern Sudan. All flights in the area are temporarily stopped.

June 2001: Peace negotiations breaks down in Nairobi, Kenya.

August 2001: The Nile river floods leaving thousands homeless in Sudan.

September 2001: the UN lifts on sanctions against Sudan to support ongoing peace negotiations.

October 2001: Following the New York terror attacks, USA puts new sanctions on Sudan due to accusations of Sudan’s involvment with iInternational terrorism.

During 2001: More than 14,550 slaves are freed after pressure from human rights groups.

NEW HOPE FOR PEACE?

January 2002: A ceasefire between government forces and the SPLM are finally agreed upon.

July 20th 2002: the government and SPLA signs a protocol to end the civil war.

July 27th 2002: President al-Bashir meets for the first time with SPLA leader John Garang. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has arranged the meeting. The war in Sudan is also having huge impact on the northen Uganda.

July 31st 2002: Government attacks SPLA again.

October 2002: The ceasefire is confirmed again, but remains very uncertain. Pecae negations still continues during the next years.

February 2003: The 2 rebelgroups representing the African population in Darfur starts a rebellion against the government as protest against neglection and suppression.

December 2003: Progress is made in the peace negotiations. The negotiations are mainly focused on sharing the important oil-ressources.

UPRISING IN DARFUR

January 2004: Government army strikes down on uprising in Darfur region in the Western Sudan. More than 100,000 people seeks refuge in Chad.

May 26th 2004: A historic peace agreement is signed, but the situation in Darfur remains unchanged and extremely critical.

January 9th 2005 : In Nairobi the government and rebels signs the last parts of the peace treaty for Southern Sudan. All fighting in Africa’s longest civil war is expected to end in January 2005, but the peace agreement still doesn’t cover the Darfur region. More than 1.5 million people lost their homes since the conflict in Darfur broke out early 2003.

March 15th 2005: United Nations Security Council agrees to send 10,000 peace keeping soldiers to Southern Sudan. Again the descision does not cover the Darfur region.

http://www.sudan.net/history.php

Nine: History of South-North Sudan: Chronology (from the Sudan-Update)

Middle Ages: Christian kingdoms along the Nile coexist with Muslim neighbours.

End of Middle Ages: Collapse of Christian kingdoms; rise of Funj Sultanate

17th century: emergence of Sultanate of Darfur.

1821: Turco-Egyptian conquest of Sudan “unifies” small independent Sudanese
states.

1840: Captain Salim Bey occupies areas along the Nile to Gondokoro, near Juba.
Bahr al-Ghazal is invaded and occupied by other Turco-Egyptian officials.

1881: Start of Mahdist uprising against the government.

1883: Mohamed Ahmed “al-Mahdi” captures Al-Obeid.

1885: Mahdist forces capture Khartoum after a long seige; British General C.G
Gordon is killed.

1885: Al-Mahdi dies; the Khalifa Abdullahi takes over.

1892: Belgians from Congo/Zaire capture Western Equatoria up to Mongalla – the
“Lado enclave” is made part of the Belgian Congo. French forces under Major
Marchand occupy parts of Bahr al-Ghazal and Western Upper Nile to Fashoda
settlement on the river; by 1896 the French had an administration in these
areas.

1896: Belgians agree to release the Lado enclave to British control when King
Leopold of Belgium dies.

1897: French forces from Djibouti set off across Ethiopia aiming –
unsuccessfully – to link up with the Fashoda expedition and annex Southern
Sudan to French West Africa. The “Fashoda incident” results from Marchand’s
encounter with British forces.

1898: Anglo-Egyptian forces led by General Kitchener overthrow the Mahdist
state in the battle of Omdurman. The two countries begin to establish
condominium rule.

1899: Condominium Agreement signed. French agree to withdraw.

1908: Wad Haboba uprising in the Gezira.

1910: Belgium’s King Leopold dies; the Lado enclave is added to British-held
territory.

1916: Reconquest of Darfur.

1900-1920s: “Pacification” of the country, characterized in the south and Nuba
mountains especially by periods of extreme violence.

1920s: Sayyid Abdel Rahman al-Mahdi, head of Ansar sect and Sayyid Ali
al-Mirghani, head of Khatmiyya sect, are encouraged by the British to
reconstitute their movements into political organizations along quasi-secular
lines.

The British concentrate on development in the North, building railways and a
modern civil service. The West and South are maintained under “native
administration” using chiefs and sheikhs identified or created by the colonial
government, with little investment for social or economic development.
Education, using English in the South rather than Arabic as the lingua franca,
is minimal. After “pacification”, Southern Policy brings the Closed District
Ordinance to the South and the Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile. Some
governors want to incorporate the South with Uganda: Southern region governors
attend administrative conferences in East Africa, not Khartoum.

1922: Passports and Permits Ordinance controls travel between North and South.

1924: The “White Flag” military uprising – ejection of Egyptian forces from
Sudan. Assassination of Sir Lee Stack.

1925: Permits to Trade Order limits Arab trading in the South.

1928: Language policy for the South establishes English as the lingua franca
and encourages local languages at the expense of Arabic.

1930s-1940s: Nationalist politics develop rapidly in the North.

1937: Establishment of the Graduates’ Congress.

1947: Juba Conference organized by colonial government – Southern chiefs agree
with northern nationalists to pursue a united Sudan. A crash programme of
integration follows, as Southern Policy is abandoned.

1953: The 800 administrative posts vacated by the British are “Sudanized” as
“self-rule” is introduced, with a Westminster-style parliament. A provisional
constitution is introduced, and Ismail al-Azhari is made Prime Minister.
Northern politicians allocate four posts to Southerners, reflecting both racial
prejudice and the inadequacy of Southern education. In the south,
‘Sudanization’ is regarded as ‘Northernization’. Southerners are not
represented at the Cairo Conference on self-rule, on the grounds that they have
‘no party or organisation’.

1955: In Equatoria, the Torit mutiny of southern soldiers refusing transfer to
the north marks the beginning of the first civil war, lasting 17 years.
Massacres of northern administrators, teachers and traders in the south follow
“Sudanization”.

1956: Independence on 1 January follows growing political pressure and British
exhaustion. Ismail al-Azhari becomes Prime Minister of the first national
government, formed by the conservative Unionist and Umma parties.

1958: Military takeover headed by General Abboud is precipitated by economic
crisis and growing parliamentary division. Abboud dissolves the political
parties and institutes a state of emergency.

1962: Missionaries Act expels Christian missions from the South.h7

1963: The Anya-Nya movement for southern secession is formed.

1964: The Abboud regime steps up military action in the south, forcing
thousands of southerners to seek asylum in neighbouring countries.

October 1964: A general strike and popular uprising brings down the military
regime. Civilian rule is restored by an alliance of trade unionists, students
and other “modern” forces. Transitional government headed by Sirr al-Khatim
Khalifa.

March 1965: Most parties from north and south attend Round Table Conference on
the “Southern Problem” organised by Professor Mohamed Omar Bashir, later
founder of Sudan Human Rights Organisation. Southern parties split over
attendance.

1965: Parliamentary elections are held; government formed under Mohamed Ahmed
Mahjoub, an independent turned Umma Prime Minister.

December 1965: Hassan al-Turabi’s Islamic Charter Front forces expulsion of
Sudan Communist Party from Parliament, assisted by Umma’s Mohamed Ibrahim
Khalil. Chief Justice resigns.

1966-67: Aged 30, Sadiq al-Mahdi is elected as MP, becomes Prime Minister
(from 26 July 1966 to 15 May 1967) after an acrimonious challenge to Umma
leadership.

1967: Sudan sides with the Arab world and declares war on Israel; it breaks
relations with the United States and looks to the Soviet Union for assistance.

1967-present: Period of consistently lower rainfall than previous long-term
average.

1968: Mechanized Farming Corporation established to channel international
loans (World Bank et al) into expansion of rainfed agriculture in southern
Kordofan, White Nile and Upper Nile.

1968: Parliamentary elections follow a period of divisions within Umma and
DUP.

May 1969: A group of officers led by Colonel Jaafar Mohamed Nimeiri takes
power in a military coup with leftist and Communist support.

1970: Joseph Lagu becomes sole leader of the Anya-Nya.

March 1970: After threats from religious right-wing leaders, Nimeiri
retaliates. In Wad Nubawi, Omdurman, 35-40 rebellious officers and 300-400
civilians are killed.

March 1970: Thousands of Ansar loyal to the Mahdi family are massacred when
the air force, with Egyptian assistance, bombs their stronghold at Aba Island.
Imam al-Hadi al-Mahdi is killed trying to flee to the Ethiopian border.

November 1970: Nimeiri begins to rid his government of left-wingers and
communists.

July 1971: After a shortlived coup by Hashim al-Ata and officers allied to the
Sudan Communist Party, Nimeiri is returned to power. He purges the leftists
from the army and government and accuses the Eastern (Soviet) bloc of
complicity, eventually severing relations. Nine army officers are executed; 38
others die in mysterious circumstances.

1972: Relations with the US and the West are opened, and an “open door” policy
is adopted towards the “free market”.

March 1972: Addis Ababa Agreement ends 17 years of civil war. Signed by
Nimeiri and Joseph Lagu following talks between Khartoum and the South Sudan
Liberation Movement, it is based on regional autonomy for the South and the
ending of discrimination on the basis of religion, sex or ethnic background.

1972-75: Severe drought fails to create widespread famine: the population is
still buffered by agricultural production primarily for local needs.

April 1973: Sudan adopts a “permanent constitution” as a one-party state under
Nimeiri’s Sudan Socialist Union. The judiciary is made answerable to the
president, who also commands the armed forces. The State Security Act is
adopted, which creates numerous political offences and gives the security
services broad powers of search and arrest.

1973: Large-scale Sudanese emigration to the oil-rich Arab states begins.

August 1973: Widespread unrest led by students and backed by Muslim
Brotherhood. An unknown number killed.

1974: Riots in Juba follow rumours that Egyptian farmers will be settled in
the area drained by the prospective Jonglei canal.

1975: Sudan hailed as potential “breadbasket of the Arab world”; large-scale
mechanized agriculture is expanded into southern Kordofan.

September 1975: Failed military coup attempt by Lt-Col Hassan Hussein, linked
to Muslim Brotherhood and Umma/Ansar families in Kordofan. Dozens of rebel
officers executed.

1976: Major failed coup attempt by Brigadier Mohamed Nur Saad, using elements
of army with exiles trained in Ethiopia and Libya; Ansar-led with Muslim
Brotherhood and DUP. 1-2,000 killed in fighting; 100+ executed. Unexplained
disappearance of 800 others after special trials under Vice-President AbulQasim
Ibrahim.

1976: Sadiq al-Mahdi tried in absentia, sentenced to death.

1977: International debt repayments become due.

1977: Nimeiri embarks on “national reconciliation” with elements of the Umma,
DUP and Muslim Brothers.

1978: A joint Sudanese-Egyptian project is launched to construct a canal
through the Sudd marshes of the South, employing the French CCI company. Oil
is discovered near Bentiu, Upper Nile, Southern Sudan, and Chevron company
announces discovery of oil in Kordofan.

1978: Faisal Islamic Bank opens in Sudan, the first Islamic banking operation
in the country.

1978: Despite export-oriented mechanized agricultural policies, economic
crisis comes to a head as international primary commodity prices plummet and
oil prices soar. The IMF intervenes and negotiates the first of several
structural adjustment programmes.

1979: Fall of Idi Amin in Uganda leads to the return of many well-qualified
Equatorians to Southern Sudan. The balance of power in the South starts to
shift away from the Nilotic Dinka and Nuer.

1980: Jonglei Canal construction begins, despite concerns of local people.

1981: Sorghum becomes Sudan’s second biggest export.

April 1981: Chevron announces discovery of commercial oil deposits in the
Unity (South) survey field. Coupled with the Heglig (Kordofan) fields, the
recoverable reserves are estimated at 236m barrels.

January 1982: Widespread unrest – Defence Minister and 22 senior army officers
dismissed after criticising political situation.

1982: Renewal of Nile Valley Waters Agreement with Egypt.

September 1983: Nimeiri introduces “Sharia” or “September” laws. In eighteen
months 200 people – mostly displaced – suffer amputation for theft.

1983: South is “redivided” into three regions, and the single regional
government is abolished. Equatorians celebrate while unseated Dinka and Nuer
suffer humiliation.

1983: Civil war resumes after mutinies at Bor garrison, Pibor, Pochalla,
Wangkai and Ayod, leading to the formation of the SPLA/SPLM.

February 1984: After SPLA attacks on its oil fields in the south, Chevron
suspends operations.

1984: Jonglei canal work is halted by SPLA activity.

1984-85: Severe famine in western and eastern parts of the country follows
successive years of inadequate rains. Agriculture aimed at external markets
means the population is increasingly vulnerable to shortages.

18 January 1985: Execution of Ustaz Mahmoud Mohamed Taha, progressive Islamic
philosopher, sentenced to death for “apostasy” by Emergency Courts.

16 April 1985: Widespread strikes and demonstrations follow rises in food
prices. Nimeiri is overthrown after a popular uprising headed by the “National
Alliance for National Salvation” leads to a military coup by his defence
minister, General Abd al-Rahman Swar al-Dahab. A Transitional Military Council
is set up; Swar al-Dahab (later head of the Dawa Islamiyya) declines to revoke
Sharia laws but “huddud” penalties are suspended.

1985: First SPLA incursion into the Nuba mountains: 100 Baggara Arabs are
killed at Gardud. The Transitional Military Council begins supplying arms to
the Misiriya Zurug and Hawazma clans of the Baggara.

March 1986: Koka Dam Agreement in Ethiopia, between SPLA/SPLM and northern
National Alliance, the civilian leadership within the TMC, reaches formula for
peace and a consitutional conference. Endorsed by the Umma party, it is
rejected by the DUP and the NIF.

April 1986: Elections – Sadiq al-Mahdi becomes Prime Minister of a coalition
Umma/DUP government. Veteran Nuba leader Fr Philip Abbas Ghaboush wins a seat
in Khartoum North, defeating the NIF candidate, while his Sudan National Party
wins 12 seats. Overall the Umma and DUP share 70 per cent of the 300-seat
parliament while the NIF gains 18 per cent of the northern-dominated ballot:
there is no voting in half the 86 southern constituencies on grounds of
“insecurity”.

June 1986: Sudan signs the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

September 1986: Change in Army leadership: Lt-Gen Fawzi Ahmed al-Fadil
appointed chief of staff.

1986: First case of AIDS in Sudan officially notified.

1987: Sadiq al-Mahdi abandons Koka Dam Agreement on receiving arms from Libya
and Iraq, declares a state of emergency and begins a policy of arming militias
of Baggara as parallel force. His government introduces a “kasha” campaign of
forced expulsions of war-displaced southerners from the capital.

March 1987: Hundreds of displaced Ngok Dinka are massacred by Rezeigat in
Ed-Da’ein, Darfur, in apparent retaliation for an SPLA attack on a Rezeigat
militia at Sahafa. A subsequent report on the massacre details the kidnapping
and enslavement of Dinka women and children as part of the militia raiding
pattern in northern Bahr al-Ghazal.

1987: SPLA starts a unit in the Nuba Mountains.

1988: Famine in Southern Sudan, growing since 1986, becomes intense: 250,000
die of hunger-related diseases in 1988. Deliberate “scorched earth” and relief
denial policies of government, militias and SPLA are the primary cause of food
shortage, compounded by drought, floods and pest infestations.

November 1988: “November Accord” negotiated by the DUP with the SPLA/SPLM,
agreeing in principle to freeze Sharia laws, cease-fire and cancel the state of
emergency. Returning DUP leader Muhamed Osman al-Mirghani receives a popular
hero’s welcome at Khartoum airport. Initially rejecting the accord, Sadiq
forms a coalition with the NIF, excluding the DUP.

February 1989: Army issues ultimatum to Sadiq demanding progress towards peace
and disbandment of militias. NIF leader Hassan al-Turabi is appointed deputy
prime minister.

March 1989: Reports say two million Southern Sudanese – one in five
Southerners, mostly Dinka, Nuer and Shilluk from Upper Nile – are displaced;
one million live in and around Khartoum.

March 1989: NIF leaves government; DUP rejoins coalition. Sadiq begins peace
talks with SPLA/SPLM; a cease-fire is announced. UN Operation Lifeline Sudan
resumes famine relief to the south.

April 1989: Sharia laws are frozen; a date is set for a constitutional
conference on 18 September 1989.

June 1989: On the eve of a key cabinet meeting, and with the government
delegation ready to meet Garang in Addis Ababa on 4 July, a military coup on 30
June thwarts the peace process. Coup leaders deny alignment with the NIF, and
ban all political parties, but NIF policies and individuals are prominent. A
new security agency is created, originating in the NIF’s pre-coup security
apparatus. Referred to as the “Security of the Revolution” or “Islamic
Security”, the agency is primarily responsible for the mass arrests and torture
after the coup.

July 1989: The Bashir regime holds meetings with the SPLA and the cease-fire
is extended.

September 1989: Government appoints “steering committees” to manage the assets
of trade unions and professional associations dissolved when it took power.

October 1989: The cease-fire between Khartoum and the SPLA breaks down when
the regime embarks on an offensive to recapture SPLA-held territory. The
failure of the offensive eventually leaves the SPLA in complete control of the
territory bordering Uganda and parts of Zaire.

21 October 1989: The formation is announced of the National Democratic
Alliance, a coalition of northern and southern Sudanese opposition forces
including the Umma, Democratic Unionist and Communist parties and the SPLM.

27 October 1989: An attack by Murahaleen militia on Kamda in the Nuba
Mountains leads to 20 villages being destroyed and 98 people killed, despite
army attempts at intervention.

November 1989: The Special Courts Act is introduced: security courts to try
violations of constitutional decrees and emergency regulations, and drug and
currency offences. Sentences are severe.

5 November 1989: With its Popular Defence Act, the RCC establishes the Popular
Defence Force (PDF), a paramilitary organization which includes the militias
operating in the south and west and has the added role of training members of
the public.

December 1989: War escalates in the South; large shipments of arms from China,
ordered by Sadiq, are paid for by Iran.

December 1989: At least 600 Shilluk Southern migrant agricultural workers at
Jebelain on the White Nile are massacred by an Arab militia.

March 1990: Sudan and Libya announce an agreement to “integrate” the two
countries, signing a trade protocol.

April 1990: 28 officers are executed a few hours after a failed coup attempt.

May 1990: Four privately-owned newspapers, ostensibly non-political, are
banned.

July 1990: A group of lawyers is allowed to address a special court and
cross-examine prosecution witnesses in a case against a journal editor. Since
the 1989 coup lawyers had only been allowed to attend proceedings as “friends”
of defendants.

September 1990: Dozens of army officers, mostly lower-ranking officers from
Darfur and Southern Sudan, are arrested in Khartoum and accused of conspiracy
to overthrow the government. Some are reportedly executed.

September 1990: Military intelligence begins detaining educated Nuba men in
Kadugli and Dilling.

November 1990: Widespread arrests in major northern towns including Wad
Medani, Atbara, Al-Obeid and Khartoum, following demonstrations by students and
trades unionists against government policy.

31 December 1990: Bashir announces that Shari’a law is to be implemented with
immediate effect in northern Sudan.

End 1990: UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns of wide-scale famine in
Sudan, launching an appeal for 1.3 million tonnes of food. Khartoum is
reluctant to acknowledge the crisis, referring only to a “food gap”.

March 1991: New penal code introduced, based on an interpretation of the
Islamic shari’a, originally drafted by Dr Hassan al-Turabi of the National
Islamic Front when Attorney General in 1988.

March 1991: 300 southern civilians are killed by Arab militias at Rokon,
between Maridi and Juba, reportedly for refusing to act as human shields
against SPLA attacks on the military.

April 1991: Dr Hassan al-Turabi is elected secretary general of the first
Popular Arab Islamic Conference in Khartoum.

April 1991: Khartoum announces general amnesty for all political prisoners;
those freed include 300 prisoners of conscience, but at least 60 more are not
released. Those released are put under tight restrictions.

April 1991: 17 Zaghawa people are shot in the courtyard of a Darfur mosque by
army soldiers.

May 1991: After the fall of the Mengistu regime in Addis Ababa, some 300,000
Southern Sudanese are forced to return to Sudan from border areas in Ethiopia,
and are bombed by the Sudanese air force.

June 1991: Amendments to the National Security Act do nothing to prevent
arbitrary incommunicado detention and torture, according to Amnesty
International.

July 1991: Members of the Revolution Security police open fire on
demonstrators at Khartoum University, killing one. Dozens of students are
arrested; 12 detained student leaders are reportedly beaten.

August 1991: A thwarted coup attempt is announced by the government; 81
supporters of banned political parties are detained, as well as military
officers. At a military tribunal, death sentences for 11 are announced but
later commuted.

August 1991: SPLA Commanders Riek Machar and Lam Akol lead a “creeping coup”
attempt against Colonel Garang. They say Garang is too authoritarian and lacks
political direction. The coup is unsuccessful but leads to the formation of a
breakaway “Nasir” faction.

September 1991: Rising malnutrition, especially in the western region. UN
attempts to assist 4.5 million people out of an estimated 8.7 million Sudanese
and refugees in need of food aid. Tens of thousands die by the end of the year
from hunger-related disease.

October 1991: Army seals off the Nuba Mountains and begins operations to drive
out the Nuba and destroy SPLA strength there.

November-December 1991: Over 200,000 flee Bor district after 5,000 civilians
are massacred by forces loyal to SPLA-Nasir.

December 1991: The secret war against the Nuba is highlighted by reports from
Africa Watch and Survival International, which point to growing incidence of
“disappearances” of educated Nuba and the deaths of thousands of men, women and
children in raids by the army and government-backed militias.

December 1991: Renewed government attempts to evict migrants from southern and
western Sudan from the squatter areas of Khartoum; at least 47 are killed.

7 January 1992: Speaking for the European Community, the British Ambassador
and the Dutch Charge d’Affaires protest to RCC member Col Muhammad al-Amin
Khalifa at the mass bulldozing of displaced people’s homes, after 16 were
killed on 22 December 1991.

January 1992: Jihad declared in Nuba Mountains at Al-Obeid meeting of regional
governors of Southern Kordofan. The regional military commander pledges to
“cleanse” every area “sullied by the (SPLA) outlaws”.

January 1992: University of Khartoum Vice-Chancellor Prof Muddathir al-Tangari
is dismissed after protesting at government behaviour concerning the
university. He is replaced by his deputy, NIF militant Prof Ma’mun Humayda.

January 1992: $12m in donations from Iran and Gulf-based businessmen are
deposited in the Faisal Islamic Bank to help the FIS (Front Islamique du
Salut), which has won the first round of elections in Algeria. Dr Hassan
al-Turabi of Sudan’s National Islamic Front predicts that Algeria will become
the world’s second Islamic republic and advises it to seek unity with Iran.

January 1992: ‘The physical elimination’ of 3,000 SPLA fighters in southern
Darfur is announced by State Governor Col Tayib Ibrahim Muhammad Kheir (Tayib
Sikha). The Darfur SPLA leader, former NIF member Daoud Yahya Bolad, is
arrested in Wadi Salih province and killed.

February 1992: 300 member transitional national assembly appointed as
legislature until parliamentary elections promised for an unspecified date.

March 1992: Khartoum launches its largest-yet offensive against the SPLA. One
aim is to cut off sources of relief to civilians in SPLA-held areas. 100,000
people are displaced.

1992: Nearly half a million displaced people and squatters are forcibly
expelled from their homes in the Khartoum area to desert camps with inadequate
water, food and shelter.

April 1992: 23 women and a child are imprisoned in Omdurman after holding a
peaceful demonstration in memory of the 28 military officers summarily executed
in April 1990.

May 1992: Hassan al-Turabi tells the US Congress that Khartoum has only a few
political prisoners, treats women fairly, receives no arms from Iran and wants
to live in peace with non-Muslims. He is later assaulted by a Sudanese
protester in Canada.

May 1992: SPLA-Mainstream tightens its siege of Juba, capital of Equatoria.

May 1992: After a government attack on the SPLA-held town of Kapoeta, some
22,000 Sudanese seek asylum across the Kenyan border, including 12,500
unaccompanied minors.

June 1992: The government begins in earnest the forcible mass relocation of
the Nuba from the conflict zone in the Nuba Mountains. Thousands of civilians
are moved to “peace villages” – displaced persons’ camps – further north. Some
of the camps are attached to mechanized commercial farming projects, often on
land previously farmed by Nuba villagers. Others are in inhospitable desert
areas; men and women are often segregated.

June 1992: SPLA infiltrates Juba city and briefly captures the military
headquarters on 7 June. Over 80 government officers – from the armed forces,
police, prison and wildlife services – are subsequently detained and many are
tortured.

September 1992: William Nyuon Bany, former deputy commander-in-chief of
SPLA-Mainstream and negotiator at Abuja, separates from Garang and begins
independent military operations in eastern Equatoria. His group is loosely
allied to SPLA-Nasir.

September 1992: Catholic bishops from SPLA-controlled Southern Sudan accuse
government troops of genocide in Juba, and call on Catholic bishops throughout
east Africa to press for international consideration for Sudan.

September 1992: UN temporarily suspends Operation Lifeline Sudan after SPLA
rebels kill three UN workers and a photojournalist.

17 October 1992: Malakal, main town in Upper Nile, is attacked and briefly
occupied by a group led by young Nuer religious prophet Wut Nyang and the
Anya-Nya II militia in part allied to SPLA-Nasir (renamed SPLA-United), which
claims credit. After the government recovers the town, 135 Southern Sudanese
civil servants are detained and reportedly tortured in “ghost” houses.

November 1992: SPLA-Nasir peace proposals include a 2-3 year period of
temporary unity pending a referendum among southerners and border peoples on
self-determination.

November 1992: Under external pressure, the government establishes a committee
to investigate hundreds of arrests and disappearances during the siege of Juba.

December 1992: UN General Assembly condemns Bashir regime for gross violations
of human rights.

December 1992: Government troops in the south are allegedly offered financial
rewards for impregnating southern women. The “largest ever” massacre of Nuba
people, at Heiban, is carried out on 25 December, and Amnesty International
later reports operations tantamount to “ethnic cleansing”.

December 1992: The three factions of the SPLA agree at UN-supervised meetings
in Nairobi to guarantee the flow of relief supplies to citizens affected by war
in Southern Sudan.

The number of foreign asylum seekers in Sudan increases to over one million by
the end of 1992.

January 1993: Egypt and Sudan at loggerheads over territorial rights to the
Red Sea region of Halaib. Each accuses the other of harbouring opposition
elements, with Egypt claiming that Egyptian fundamentalists are being trained
in Sudan to destabilize the Mubarak government.

January 1993: An estimated 60,000 people are said to have died from kala-azar
(leishmaniasis) in Parayang, bordering Upper Nile and Bahr al-Ghazal.

January 1993: Turabi suggests that the RCC will hand over to civilian
administration within months.

January 1993: SPLA claims Khartoum has executed four senior southern Sudanese
generals for collaborating with SPLA fighters during the July 1992 SPLA siege
of Juba.

February 1993: Pope John Paul II stops over in Khartoum; tells a public
gathering that peace will only come with respect for freedom, justice and human
rights.

February 1993: Garang urges Khartoum to hold new peace talks under the
auspices of the United Nations.

February 1993: Lonrho company chairman Tiny Rowland reveals his “membership”
of the SPLA.

March 1993: Minister of Planning Ali al-Haj reports 40,000 applications from
Arab agricultural entrepreneurs to buy land in Southern Kordofan for mechanized
farming schemes.

27 March 1993: SPLA-Mainstream attacks anti-Garang (SPLA-United) leadership
meeting in Kongor. Veteran politician Joseph Oduho is killed; a UN WFP worker
is captured.

March 1993: Temporary cease-fire in southern war zones. Plans for new round of
peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria.

April 1993: The opposition National Democratic Alliance meets for five days in
Nairobi and announces a “historic” agreement on religion and the state.

April 1993: A group of people is detained in connection with an alleged
Egyptian-supported invasion of Sudan. They are later paraded on television in
chains and appear to have been tortured.

April 1993: Thousands of displaced from Nuba Mounains and Bentiu reach
northern Kordofan. Women say the PDF raped them: there is an unusually high
rate of pregnancy.

April 1993: World Bank and Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
suspend loans to Sudan, which has failed to pay its arrears.

April 1993: Garang proposes a referendum on Southern self-determination,
shortly before resumption of Abuja peace talks.

May 1993: Peace talks collapse at Abuja.

June 1993: Yusif Kuwa, leader of the Nuba SPLA-Mainstream division, appeals
for aid on his first visit outside Africa.

June 1993: Mosques and headquarters of the Ansar, Khatmiyya and Ansar al-Sunna
al-Muhammadiya are the targets of crackdowns by NIF security on Sudan’s
traditional religious leadership. Several leaders are briefly arrested, and
the Mahdi’s tomb is “nationalized”. Turabi describes the old sects as
obstacles to democracy.

June 1993: UNHCR in Uganda takes on the protection of 96 Sudanese children who
had returned from military training in Cuba, helping prevent them being
transported back into Sudan by SPLA-Mainstream.

July 1993: Egypt’s President Mubarak and Sudan’s Lt-Gen al-Bashir meet at the
Cairo summit of the Organization of African Unity, for the first time in 18
months, following mediation by PLO leader Yasser Arafat. Hostilities over the
Halaib territory are temporarily patched up.

July 1993: SPLA factions fight over Kongor.

18 August 1993: US State Department adds Sudan to its list of states
sponsoring terrorism.

August 1993: Jimmy Carter flies to Khartoum for informal talks with the Bashir
government; he says there is “no proof” that Sudan supports international
terrorism.

August 1993: Khartoum denies allegations that it is assisting Somali leader
General Aideed. A ship carrying sugar from Port Sudan to Somalia is searched
by the US Navy.

August 1993: One of several attempts by the NIF at dialogue with members of
the exiled northern opposition parties fails to reach a positive conclusion in
the UK.

August 1993: 60,000 Southern Sudanese flee to Uganda in three weeks, after
government troops begin an offensive against SPLA in Western Equatoria, backed
by MiG fighters and Antonov bombers. 38,000 were already under care in Keruwa
camp. Another 42,000 cross into Ethiopia in August, and 4,800 into Zaire.

August 1993: Talks between government representative Ali al-Haj Muhammad and
SPLA-United’s Dr Lam Akol in Fashoda, during the coronation of the new Shilluk
king, lead to further SPLA-Mainstream accusations of United’s complicity with
the NIF.

August 1993: 47,000 displaced Dinka civilians are told by SPLA-Mainstream not
to cross into Uganda. Equatorian refugees in Koboko, Uganda, claim that
Garang’s Dinkas looted their property in Kaya and raped their women.

September 1993: Food shortfall of 73,000 tonnes in Northern Kordofan is
predicted by aid agencies but denied by government. Drought and locusts, plus
fighting in Southern Kordofan, are blamed.

September 1993: Five government officials are killed in an air crash en route
to Bentiu for further talks with the SPLA-United faction. They include Fadl
al-Seed Abu Gaseissa, Director of the Peace and Development Foundation, which
promoted Islam in the South through development assistance.

September 1993: The heads of state of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda and Kenya
establish a committee to resolve the civil war in Sudan, in their capacity as
members of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development. Bashir
accepts the initiative but warns against foreign intervention.

September 1993: Arakis Energy of Canada says it will press ahead to explore
develop the former Chevron oil concessions it has acquired in Southern Kordofan
and Southern Sudan. Experts are sceptical of the small company succeeding in
the instability of the area.

September 1993: Riek Machar arrives in Nairobi, emerging from Southern Sudan
for the first time since his attempted coup against Garang in August 1991.

2 October 1993: The Patriotic Resistance Movement of South Sudan is launched
in Nairobi by veteran politician and former Garang ally Alfred Lado Gore. It
appears to represent members of Equatorian tribes who reject the
SPLA-Mainstream (dominated by the Dinka) and the SPLA-United (dominated by
Nuer).

4 October 1993: Three days of riots in Omdurman, Wad Medani and Al-Obeid in
response to the economic crisis, following a fuel shortage and rises in fuel
prices.

13 October 1993: Turabi meets the Pope in the Vatican.

16 October 1993: The ruling Revolutionary Command Council dissolves itself.
It has been waning in the last year, and its dissolution assists the promotion
of a civilian image.

October 1993: A brigadier imprisoned in Suakin is subjected to renewed violent
assault after he details in a letter to the Justice Minister the grotesque
torture he had previously undergone in Shalla prison, Western Sudan.

22 October 1993: Washington declaration signed by rival SPLA faction leaders
Garang and Machar. They concur on “self-determination for the people of
Southern Sudan, Nuba Mountains and marginalized areas”, and on opposition to
the NIF regime and any subsequent regime that denies the right to
self-determination.

November 1993: William Nyuon is accused of breaking the cease-fire between the
SPLA factions by launching attacks against SPLA-Mainstream positions in Eastern
Equatoria.

10-11 November 1993: Khartoum University students protest at alleged
vote-rigging of union council elections in which National Islamist candidates
won all 40 seats. Over 300 are arrested amid the most militant demonstrations
since 1991.

20 November 1993: Foreign ministers of the Horn of Africa countries belonging
to IGADD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development) meet in
Nairobi to address the conflict in Sudan. The IGADD initiative follows the
resolution passed in Kampala by African members of the Eastern and Southern
African Preferential Trade Area to seek a solution to the conflict.

November 1993: Interim report by UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Gaspar
Biro corroborates the “grave violations” that have taken place in Sudan.

November 1993: Between 15 and 20 Chinese ground attack aircraft are delivered
to Sudan, reportedly financed by Iran.

November 1993: The Popular Defence Force militias are being boosted while up
to three thousand are being retired from the regular armed forces. 45,000 new
militia members are on public display at the PDF’s fourth anniversary
celebration.

November 1993: Hassan al-Turabi flies to Afghanistan, ostensibly to mediate
between warring Islamic factions.

December 1993: The opposition National Democratic Alliance fails to agree on a
common response to the question of self-determination for Southern Sudan.

December 1993: Senior government figures celebrate Christmas in the three main
Southern towns to dispel allegations that the regime is anti-Christian.

December 1993: Military Industrialization Authority Act.

December 1993: Sudanese universities are scheduled to admit 30,000 new
students, six times the number of admissions in 1991. There are now 18
universities compared with five in 1989.

December 1993: Thousands of militia fighters died in Southern Sudan and the
Nuba Mountains in the last year, and the practice of arming teachers,
government officials and students is coming under question because of the
casualty rates.

January 1994: Eritrea’s President Afeworki complains that “foreign Muslim
extremists” have declared war on his nation after 20 invaders from Sudan are
killed.

January 1994: Archbishop of Canterbury flies to Southern Sudan for three
days. A diplomatic row over his cancellation of a visit to northern Sudan
leads to the mutual expulsion of ambassadors from Britain and Sudan.

January 1994: Unprecedented build-up of government military forces is reported
in Southern Sudan. Over 1,000 people are said to be fleeing towards the
borders. Towns and displaced people’s camps near the Ugandan and Zairean
borders are subjected to high-altitude bombing.

February 1994: Two dozen worshippers are killed in a machine-gun attack on a
mosque of the Ansar al-Sunna al-Muhammadiya minority religious sect, whose
leader had recently criticised the religious credentials of the Bashir regime.

February 1994: Lam Akol, Shilluk member of SPLA-United, is dismissed.

April 1994: Members of the ultra-conservative minority Ansar al-Sunna sect
stage a sit-in protest to demand the release of their leader, Sheikh Abu Zeid
Muhammad Hamza, and the return of mosques “confiscated” by the authorities.

April 1994: Egypt expresses anxiety at the SPLA’s announcement of a “New
Sudan” and rejects the idea of secession for Southern Sudan.

April 1994: Student demonstrations at Gezira University lead to 1,000 arrests.

April-May 1994: Southern Sudanese refugees are crossing into Gambela, Western
Ethiopia, at over 1,000 a month, according to UNHCR.

May 1994: Arok Thon Arok, a key Dinka member of SPLA-United and a founder of
the SPLA, resigns blaming Riek Machar’s “dictatorial tendencies”. News emerges
separately that Martin Majier, an SPLA-Mainstream commander detained by Garang,
was killed in March 1993.

June 1994: SPLA-United spokesman John Luk is arrested by his own faction at
Waat, and accused of siding with the dismissed Commander Lam Akol.

June 1994: Kajo-kaji in Equatoria is retaken by government forces.

June 1994: Bad harvest and civil war mean that famine threatens Bahr al-Ghazal
region.

July 1994: SPLA-United commanders Faustino and Kerubino advance into Wunrok,
northern Bahr al-Ghazal. Battles with SPLA-Mainstream lead to 1,000 mostly
civilian deaths; both factions loot possessions from local people.

July 1994: More than 50,000 displaced people are expelled from Khartoum in a
series of night raids over two weeks. Areas such as Haj Yusif, Kalakla and Umm
Bedda are targeted for “restructuring”.

July 1994: Sadiq al-Mahdi, released from detention, adds to confusion over
allegations of conspiracy levelled against him and senior Umma party colleagues
by the regime. He retracts claims that two Umma officials were tortured, and
describes their actions as regrettable.

July 1994: Fighting is reported among groups loyal to different leaders within
SPLA-United, with hundreds of lives lost. Gordon Kong, one of the original
three Nasir rebels, is detained on the orders of Riek Machar.

August 1994: Sudan boycotts the Cairo International Conference on Population
and Development. Bashir describes it as “a stark call for the demolition of
morals”.

August 1994: The wanted Venezuelan terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal is
captured in Khartoum and taken away by French forces. It emerges that in
addition to assisting Khartoum obtain right of passage for its armed forces
through Central Africa, Paris has made available satellite photographs
identifying the positions of the SPLA in Southern Sudan.

August 1994: The Beja Congress in Cairo reports that a “terror” campaign is
being waged by the government against Beja people in Eastern Sudan.

August 1994: Sudan reiterates its refusal to deal with the UN Special
Rapporteur on Human Rights, Dr Gaspar Biro. Two converts to Christianity are
lashed for apostasy, but a crucifixion sentence against them is lifted.

September 1994: The IMF reverses its decision to expel Sudan.

September 1994: Uganda alleges that breakaway SPLA commander William Nyuon has
helped channel arms from Khartoum to the Lords’ Resistance Army of Joseph Kony
in northern Uganda.

September 1994: Bashir claims some of the IGADD states convening peace talks
in the Horn of Africa are “not neutral”: there is deadlock over the issues of
self-determination and the separation of state and religion. Garang endorses
the IGADD declaration of principles

October 1994: Lam Akol, dismissed from the breakaway SPLA-Nasir (United)
faction in February, challenges Riek Machar’s leadership. He claims to command
forces in mid-west Upper Nile under the name SPLA-U.

October 1994: In Akobo, a reconciliation conference is held between warring
Lou and Jikany clans of the Nuer, under the aegis of Riek Machar’s
newly-renamed Southern Sudan Independence Movement.

October 1994: Squatter settlements in Gamayir and Khuddair, Omdurman, are
destroyed during the forcible removal campaign: armed riot police engage in a
shoot-out and at least five squatters are killed and fourteen severely injured.

October 1994: A new offensive is launched in the Nuba Mountains: government
forces seek to encircle the area under SPLA control and deny villagers access
to water points, with a “shoot to kill” policy.

October 1994: Over a hundred civilians are killed in an attack on Akot by Riek
Machar’s “Southern Sudan Independence Movement”. Five thousand families are
made temporarily homeless, and SPLA-Mainstream is accused of looting the town
when its forces re-take it.

October 1994: Most female prisoners in Omdurman prison are to be released,
according to the Chief Justice.

19 October 1994: Southern Sudanese women asylum-seekers and their children in
Cairo stage a sit-in protest at the UNHCR office, asking for assessment
interviews to be speeded up. They are expelled by Egyptian security forces
with water hoses and sticks.

December 1994: Eritrea breaks diplomatic relations with Sudan, claiming that
300 “Islamic Jihad” members are being trained inside Sudan as insurgents.
Sudan responds with a claim that Beja dissidents are using Eritrean territory
for training.

December 1994: Chukudum agreement – Umma Party and SPLA Mainstream concur on
“self-determination” for South using existing boundaries.

January 1995: Opposition representatives meet in Asmara at the invitation of
Eritrean head of state.

Ten: CHRONOLOGY OF South-North SUDANESE HISTORY THROUGH 2000 (from the University of Berkeley, USA)

Ancient and Medieval Sudan

Note: Because most archeological work in Sudan has been done along the northern banks of the Nile, more is known about the ancient history in these areas of Sudan than in other areas. The chronology below reflects this. More historical and archeological work is waiting to be done.

2700-2100 BC Period of growing contact with Egypt and some Egyptian conquest in Nubia (located along the Nile in northern Sudan).

1900-1575 BC Rise of Nubian independence during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom.

1575-1090 BC Egyptian conquest and rule in the northern Sudan under the New Kingdom pharaohs.

1090-750 BC Emergence of the kingdom of Kush centered in Napata (near the modern day town of Merowe and the 4th cataract of the Nile).

750-656 BC Nubian Kingdom at Kush conquers Egypt and establish the 25th Dynasty of Pharaohs.

656-590 BC Kush withdraws back to Sudan. In 590 BC, the Kush capital moves to Merowe.

590 BC-350 AD Rise and gradual decline of the Kingdom of Kush at Merowe. Strong iron age society emerged with a distinctive Sudanese culture.

350-550 Other kingdoms develop along the Nile in northern Sudan (Nobatia, Alwa, Makuria).

543-570 Conversion of rulers of Sudanese Nile Kingdoms to Christianity.

640 Arab Muslim conquest of Egypt and beginning of Muslim contacts with northern Sudan.

ca 1200 Rise of Daju Dynasty in Darfur.

1300-1350 Defeat of last Christian king in Nubia and ascension of first Muslim king to the throne in Dongola.

1400s Replacement of Daju Dynasty by the Tunjur Dynasty in Darfur.

1504 Fall of Soba, capital of Alwa, and end of last Christian kingdom in Sudan. Beginning of Funj sultanate (a feudal-like kingdom controlling the central Nile valley region during a time of increasing Islamization in northern Sudan).

1580 Beginning of Keira sultanate in Darfur.

Foreign Conquest and the Anti-Colonial Struggle

1820-1822 Mohammed Ali’s Turco-Egyptian forces conquer much of northern Sudan bringing the Funj sultanate to an end. The Keira sultanate maintains its independence from the Turco-Egyptian regime until 1874. The Bahr al-Ghazal region in the south is conquered in 1871.

1863-1879 Egyptian government introduces anti-slavery measures, encouraged by Britain.

1881 Muhammed Ahmad declares himself al-Mahdi, the awaited guide. Mahdist conquest of Sudan begins.

1885 Mahdist forces capture Khartoum ending Turco-Egyptian rule. Gen. Charles Gordon, a British citizen working for the Turco-Egyptian regime and in charge of the evacuation of Khartoum, is killed. Later that year, Muhammed Ahmad dies and is succeeded by Abdallah al-Tai’ishi, known as the Khalifa.

1896 Anglo-Egyptian forces begin conquest of the Mahdist State in Sudan.

1898 Battle of Omdurman – Mahdist forces are defeated; the Khalifa is killed. The Keira sultanate in Darfur under Ali Dinar asserts its autonomy. British and French forces nearly fight at Fashoda in a rivalry over control of the Nile waters.

1899 Anglo-Egyptian Condominium is established. Britain and Egypt are legally equal rulers over Sudan, although Britain is the de facto senior partner.

1899-1945 Intermittently, “pacification” or military campaigns take place in the South and the Nuba Mountains in order to make various ethnic groups submit to Anglo-Egyptian rule.

1916 Sultan Ali Dinar of Darfur is defeated by Anglo-Egyptian forces ending the Keira Dynasty. Darfur is fully incorporated into Sudan.

1924 Anti-Imperialist Demonstrations. Lee Stack, Governor-General of Sudan, is murdered in Cairo. Britain reacts by reducing Egyptian influence in Sudan.

1925 Completion of Sennar Dam and opening of the Gezira Scheme.

1943-45 Formation of first political parties in Sudan including the Ashigga and the Umma (Mahdists) Party.

1947 Juba Conference: Southern leaders accept the idea of unification with Northern Sudan.

1948 Opening of Legislative Assembly.

1953 Anglo-Egyptian Agreement. Outlines end of Anglo-Egyptian Condominium and steps to self-rule. First parliamentary elections see the National Unionist Party (NUP) win the majority.

1955 Equatoria Corps mutiny in the south, beginning the first long civil war between southern rebels and the government based in the North.

Sudanese Independence

1956 SUDANESE INDEPENDENCE PROCLAIMED. Political power shifts to a coalition between the Umma Party and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), an off-shoot of the NUP.

1958 The Umma-PDP coalition maintain their majority in parliamentary elections. In November, General Ibrahim Abboud leads a successful military coup.

1959 Nile Waters Agreement with Egypt outlines Egyptian compensation for lands to be flooded by rising waters behind the Aswan Dam.

1962-63 Intensification of conflict in the south.

1964 October Revolution. Popular demonstrations led by professional groups (doctors, lawyers, etc.) oust the Abboud Regime.

1965 Elections for a new parliament are held. An NUP-Umma coalition wins.

1968 Elections are held again. The Umma party forms a government.

1969 Military coup led by Ja’far Numeri overthrows the elected government. Political parties are banned. Known as the “May Revolution,” the new regime adopts its own form of socialism.

1970 Banks and number of businesses are nationalized.

1971 After an abortive coup attempt, Communists are purged, jailed and executed. The Numeri regime re-establishes political and economic ties with western powers. Over the next decade Sudan will become one of the largest recipient of US aid in sub-Saharan Africa.

1972 Addis Ababa Agreement ends conflict between the north and south and establish an autonomous region in the south.

1976 Attempted coup by Mahdists is nearly successful and leads to secret talks between the government and the Mahdists led by Sadiq al-Mahdi. An amnesty is declared the next year and leads to six year “process” ofNational Reconciliation.

1977-1983 Islamic reforms are introduced culminating with the 1983 “September Laws” which extend shar’ia or Islamic law to all areas of life throughout the country.

1983 A local government reorganization divides the autonomous Southern region into three separate regions. Questions emerge over control of oil fields located in the south. Economic troubles over the last decade have left the economy in shambles. The 105th battalion, composed of southerners, mutinies at Bor in the South marking the beginning of the second civil war.

1984-85 A devastating drought hits Sudan.

1985 As in 1964, demonstrations in the streets led by professional organizations cause the overthrow of Numeri’s regime. A Transitional Military Council rules for one year.

1986 Parliamentary elections are held. Sadiq al-Mahdi, leader of the Umma Party, becomes Prime Minister. The civil war continues.

1988 November: The opposition party, the Democratic Unionist Party, and the Southern People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) sign a peace agreement in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia calling for an end to the September laws. The agreement forces the government to enter into talks with the SPLA.

1989 June: Omer al-Bashir leads a successful military coup, pre-empting announcement of an agreement to end the September Laws and possibly the war in the south. Eventually, Hassan al-Turabi, leader of the National Islamic Front, emerges with a major, if un-official, role in leading this regime. al-Bashir becomes chairman of the newly formed Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC). He serves concurrently as chief of state, chairman of the RCC, prime minister, and minister of defense.

1989 August: The rebel army, the SPLA, splits into factions, which begin fighting each other as well as the government.

1990 The Bashir government reveals its intentions to establish an Islamic state.

1991 The Bashir government sides with Iraq during the Gulf War, losing the support of Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations.

1992-93: The IMF threatens to expel Sudan from the Fund.

1993 September: the six member Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) (Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan), under the leadership of Daniel Arap Moi, president of Kenya and chair of IGADD, agrees to mediate the conflict in Sudan.

1993 October: The RCC is dissolved after appointing al-Bashir as President. The RCC’s executive and legislative powers are devolved to the president and the Transitional National Assembly (TNA), an appointed legislative body,

1995 A cease-fire is declared by all sides to allow medical personal in to deal with a variety of diseases present in the South. It lasts for four months.

1995 May: Mass arrests of dissidents including the former Prime Minister, Sadiq al-Mahdi.

1996 March: Presidential and National Assembly elections are held. Omer Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir of the National Congress Party is elected as president for a five year term. He wins 75.7% of the vote. 40 other candidates share 24.3%. The government is dominated by the National Congress Party, the Movement for National Salvation and the National Islamic Front. The National Assembly is unicameral (400 seats; 275 elected by popular vote, 125 elected by a supraassembly of interest groups known as the National Congress). Elections are held on a non-party basis.

1996 Hassan al-Turabi becomes speaker of the National Assembly

30 June 1998: A new constitution drafted by the Presidential Committee goes into effect on after being approved in nationwide referendum.

1999 January: A new constitutional amendments allows the formation of political parties, or rather political “associations.”

1999 July: Oil explorations in south-central Sudan begin again on a limited basis with several foreign partners.

1999 December: al-Bashir dissolves parliament and declares a state of emergency in a move to curb the influence of parliament speaker Hassan al-Turabi, for years the leading ideologue in Bashir’s Islamist regime.

2000 May and June: Al-Bashir supporters sack Hassan al-Turabi as the secretary-general of the ruling National Congress Party, which Bashir heads. Turabi sets up the Popular National Congress party in protest.

2000 October: The United States successfully persuades other countries to vote for Mauritius and deny Sudan its expected rotation to the “Africa” seat on the Security Council.

2000 December 11 & 12: Dates set for parliamentary and presidential elections. Ninety seats in the 360-seat parliament, covering 270 constituencies, are reserved for women, teachers, businessmen, farmers and herders. Al-Turabi says he will not run against Bashir for president, but would put forward a candidate in his place.

                                                              Eleven: North-South Sudan Timeline :Political unrest history (from the Darfur Australian Network)
1956 Sudan becomes independent from British/ Egyptian rule
1958 – 1971 Unrest in the country, October Revolution and May Revolution military coups take place
1972 Addis Ababa Peace Agreement: South to become a self governing region
1978 Oil discovered in Bentiu in Southern Sudan
1983 Civil war in the South between the Government and Garang led Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement (SPLM)
President Numeiri declares Sharia law (Islamic Law) which pits the Christian/animists in the
South against the Muslims in the North
1985 Widespread unrest, Numeiri deposed, Transitional Military Council rules Sudan
1986 General elections, Coalition government set up: Sadiq al-Mahdi becomes Prime Minister
1988 Democratic Unionist Party/Coalition draft cease-fire agreement with SPLM; cease-fire not
implemented
1989 Military coup: National Salvation Revolution in power
Al-Bashir becomes president
1993 Omar al-Bashir appointed President, Revolution Command Council dissolved
1995 Sudan accused of masterminding assassination attempt on Egyptian President Mubark
1998 Pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum – allegedly manufacturing chemical weapons – attacked
by US missiles
1998 Referendum for new constitution endorsed by over 96% voters
1999 Power struggle between President al-Bashir and Speaker of the House, Islamic leader
Hassan al-Turabi, National Assembly dissolved, state of emergency declared
Advent of oil
1999 Sudan begins to export oil
2000 President al-Bashir meets National Democratic Alliance in Eritrea
Elections: Main opposition parties boycott, al-Bashir is re-elected for another five years Darfur Australia Network
2001 Memorandum of Understanding signed by al-Turabi’s party, the Popular National Congress,
rebel group of SPLM, Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). Government arrests several
opposing political leaders including al-Turabi
Nairobi: Peace talks fail between al-Bashir and SPLM leader Garang
Initiatives: Government accepts offer of Egypt/Libya to end civil war
Unilateral sanctions extended: U.S. cite terrorism and rights violations
North/South Peace deal
2002 Nuba Mountains (key rebel stronghold): al-Bashir and SPLA sign landmark ceasefire
agreement, providing a 6-month renewable ceasefire
8-year peace process ended: deal to end conflict in South Sudan
Kenya: Breakthrough agreement between the Government and Southern Rebels to end 19-
year civil war.
Machakos Protocol: South to seek self-determination after 6 years
Darfur Conflict starts
2003 Feb Western Darfur: Rebels rise against Government; cite neglect of region by Khartoum
2003 Oct PNC leader Turabi released from detention after 3 years, ban on PNC lifted
2004 Jan Western Darfur: army quells rebel uprising; hundreds of thousands of refugees flee to
neighbouring Chad
Darfur conflict kills tens of thousands, displaces millions
2004 Mar UN official says government sponsored Arab “Janjaweed” militias carrying out systematic
killings of African villagers in Darfur
Detentions: Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, army officers and opposition politicians
detained over alleged coup plot
2004 May Breakthrough: division of oil and non-oil resources between North and South
Power sharing: Government and southern rebels agree on power sharing
2004 Sept Intervention to stop genocide
Sudan fails to meet targets for disarming Janjaweed militias; UN forces intervene to protect
civilians
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell describes Darfur killings as genocide
Comprehensive Peace agreement (CPA)
2005 Jan Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) (also known as the Naivasha Agreement) signed
between Khartoum Government and Southern rebels; this ends two decades of civil war,
instates a permanent ceasefire & wealth- and power-sharing agreement, and calls for the
border between the North and the semi-autonomous South to be demarcated
Garang’s term in government cut short Darfur Australia Network
Systematic abuses in Darfur: UN report accuses the government, stops short of calling the
violence genocide
Sanctions and War Crimes
2005 Mar UN Security Council authorises sanctions against ceasefire violators in Darfur; Council votes
those accused of war crimes in Darfur to be referred to the ICC
2005 June Reconciliation Deal: Government and exiled opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA)
sign reconciliation into power-sharing administration
Detainee Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi released
Southern autonomy
2005 July Garang sworn in as first Vice President: constitution gives South a degree of autonomy is
signed
2005 Aug Garang killed in plane crash after visiting Ugandan ally Museveni.
Salva Kiir succeeds Garang as First Vice President of Sudan and President of Southern
Sudan
Widespread clashes between northern Arabs and southern Sudanese
2005 Sept Power-sharing government formed in Khartoum
2005 Oct Autonomous government formed in the South in accordance with January 2005 peace deal.
Administration dominated by former rebels
Darfur Peace Agreement
2006 May Peace Accord signed between Khartoum government, main rebel faction in Darfur and the
Sudan Liberation Movement. Smaller rebels groups left out and reject accord. Fighting
continues
2006 Aug U.N. Security Council adopts a resolution authorising up to 22,500 troops and police to
replace the cash-strapped and ill-equipped AU troops
UN peacekeeping force in Darfur rejected by Khartoum; Sudan says its sovereignty
compromised
African Union struggles to contain escalating Darfur violence
2006 Oct UN top official expelled: Jan Pronk leaves Sudan
2006 Nov Peacekeeping Mandate: African Union extends AU peacekeeping force’s mandate in Darfur
by six months
Heavy fighting erupts around southern town of Malakal, between the north Sudanese forces
and former rebel foes in the south; hundreds thought to have died
2007 Apr UN troop deployment to reinforce AU peacekeepers in Darfur
Sudan accepts a partial UN troop deployment, but not 20,000 strong
War crimes charges Darfur Australia Network
2007 May International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants: for State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs
Ahmed Haroun and the Janjaweed militia leader known as Ali Kosheib (a pseudonym for Ali
Mohammed Ali) both suspected of war crimes in Darfur
Fresh sanctions: U.S. issues fresh sanctions against Sudan
2007 July UNAMID: UN Security Council approves a resolution authorising a 26,000 hybrid force for
Darfur (United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur); Sudan agrees to co-operate with
UNAMID
2007 Oct SPLM accused Khartoum of failing to honour the 2005 peace deal and temporarily suspends
participation in Government of National Unity
2007 Dec SPLM resumes participation in Government of National Unity
2008 Jan UN takes over Darfur peace force
Sudan opens fire on UNAMID convoy: Sudan apologises
Bombing in West Darfur: Government planes bomb rebel positions; areas become no-go
zones for aid workers
2008 Feb UNAMID underpowered: Commander of the UN-African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, Balla
Keita, says more troops needed urgently in west Darfur
Clashes break out in Abyei – oil rich town in the South: key sticking point of 2005 peace
accord
2008 Mar Urgently need helicopters to patrol: Russia prepared to provide some helicopters to UNAfrican Union peacekeepers
Rising tensions: clashes break out between Arab militia and SPLM in Abyei on north/south
divide
Sudan/Chad peace accord: halts 5 years of hostilities between Sudan and Chad
Controversial 2008 Census and Sudan’s political future
2008 Apr National census counting: a vital step towards holding democratic elections after 2005
north/south peace deal
Rising death toll: UN humanitarian chief John Holmes says 300,000 people may have died
in the five-year Darfur conflict
2008 May Plane crash: Southern defence minister Dominic Dim Deng killed in a plane crash in the
south
JEM raids around Khartoum, in Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city; first time that fighting from
Western Sudan has reached the capital. 200 people died in the fighting
Sudan/Chad tensions
Sudan breaks off diplomatic relations with Chad and accuses Chad of involvement in the
rebel raid
Abyei: intense fighting breaks out between north/south forces over disputed oil rich Abyei
2008 June Arbitration over Abyei: al-Bashir and Salva Kiir agree to international arbitration to resolve
dispute over Abyei Darfur Australia Network
2008 July Calls for arrest of President al-Bashir for crimes against humanity. ICC Prosecutor Luis
Moreno-Ocampo presents evidence showing al-Bashir committed the crimes of genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. Appeal first ever request to the ICC for
the arrest of a sitting head of state. Sudan rejects the indictment
Census
2008 Sept Census Results to be announced; Southerners reserve the right not to be bound by the
results: Count will help determine distribution of wealth and power, set constituencies for the
first time since 23 years of strife, due in 2009. Questions of ethnicity and religion were not
inserted into the census questionnaire. Western Darfur region also reject the census owing
to distrust of the government
Millions of southerners displaced by the war have not returned to their homes in the South
Peace Talks
2008 Oct JEM refuses to participate in Qatari peace talks
The SLM and SNLM merge forces. SLM and JEM agree to strengthen relations
Fears of an arms race between North and former rebels in South build following allegations
that Ukrainian tanks hijacked off the coast of Somalia were bound for southern Sudan
2008 Nov al-Bashir announces immediate ceasefire in Darfur and announces a campaign to disarm
militias
Rebels play down al-Bashir’s declaration of ceasefire in Darfur, saying they will fight on until
the government agrees to share power and wealth in the region
Government forces continue attacks in the Darfur area to the disappointment of the UN
ICC calls for arrest of three rebel commanders
2008 Dec JEM holds talks with Qataris over peace process.
SLM announces rejection of the Qatari negotiations
Sudanese army claims a Darfur rebel group plans to attack the sensitive oil-rich South
Kordofan state and the Sudanese army send troops into Darfur
2009 Jan Hassan al-Turabi arrested after declaring President al-Bashir should hand himself in to The
Hague to face war crimes charges for the Darfur war
2009 Feb Sudan and JEM begin first round of peace talks in Qatar but without the SLM
Sudanese government and JEM sign a declaration of goodwill, in Qatar, expressing their
willingness to engage in peace process
Arrest Warrants against al-Bashir
2009 March ICC issues arrest warrant against President al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes
against humanity in Darfur
Mass expulsion of 13 aid agencies from Darfur
2009 May Estimated 250 people in central Sudan killed during a week of clashes between nomadic
groups fighting over grazing land and cattle in the semi-arid region of Southern Kordofan Darfur Australia Network
Alliance strained
2009 June Khartoum government denies it is supplying arms to ethnic groups in the south to destabilise
the region
Salva Kiir, warns his forces are being re-organised to be ready for any return to war with the
north
Ex-foreign minister Lam Akol splits from South’s ruling SPLM to form new party, SPLMDemocratic Change
2009 July North and South Sudan say they accept ruling by arbitration court in The Hague shrinking
disputed Abyei region and placing the major Heglig oil field in the north
A female journalist is tried and punished for breaching decency laws by wearing trousers.
She campaigns to change the law
UN declares end of Darfur War
2009 Aug UN military commander declares the war in Darfur to be over; activists condemn the
comment
2009 Oct SPLM boycotts parliament over a Bill allowing intelligence services to retain widespread
powers
2009 Dec Deal reached between leaders of North and South, on the terms of a referendum on
independence due in South by 2011
2010 Jan al-Bashir says he will accept referendum result, even if South opts for independence
2010 Feb Judges of ICC are ordered to review their decision to omit genocide from the war crimes
arrest warrant issued for al-Bashir
Sudan and Chad agree to a full normalisation of relation and to deploy a joint force on their
border to end the presence of rebels on each other’s territory and halt their activities; the
signing of this accord raises hopes of an end to the conflict in Darfur
2010 Feb-March JEM signs peace accord with government, prompting President al-Bashir to declare
the Darfur war over; but failure to agree to specifics and continuing clashes with smaller
rebel groups endanger the deal
Election
2010 April Sudan’s first multiparty nationwide election held in 24 years, since 1986
al-Bashir gains new term as president of Sudan; re-instates Salva Kiir as First Vice
President of Sudan and President of Southern Sudan
Chad-Sudan border reopens after seven years
2010 May JEM announces it is freezing its participation in peace talks; in protest against the
involvement of other insurgents in negotiations. It accuses the government of breaking an
earlier ceasefire.
2010 June Darfur sees bloodiest month in two years, according to UN
Second arrest warrant
2010 July ICC issues second arrest warrant for President al-Bashir; on charges of genocide Darfur Australia Network
2010 July & Aug al-Bashir visits Chad (July) and Kenya (August) despite ICC arrest warrants; neither
neighbouring county arrests al-Bashir despite being full members of the ICC. Both countries
receive heavy criticism from the international community, while the AU has told its members
to not cooperate with the ICC ruling
2010 Aug Tensions rise in Kalma camp, the largest internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in South
Darfur. Protests by some residents – some against the Doha talks, others in support – leads
to deadly violence. Of the 82,000 IDPS in the camp before the protests, between 50,000 to
60,000 camp inhabitants remain
As a result of the violence, Sudanese authorities cut off aid to the camp for fifteen days
SPLA launches “Child Protection Department” intended to demobilise all children in military
ranks and end the use of child soldiers across Southern Sudan by the end of 2010; as per
an agreement signed with the UN in November 2009
UNAMID says that at least 21 international aid workers have been kidnapped in Darfur since
2009
2010 Sept UN Security Council Calls on all sides to ensure that the 2011 referendum is peaceful
Floods in south Sudan force more than 50,000 people from their homes
[Last updated: September 2010]

Twelve: Sudan and South Sudan: Timeline (from Act for Peace).

PEACE ELUSIVE AS SECURITY WORSENS 

2003
Feb – Two rebel groups rise up and attack government military installations, saying Khartoum neglects arid region and arms Arab militia against civilians
2004
Apr – U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland says scorched-earth tactics trigger “one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises”
Government, Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels agree 45-day ceasefire
May – U.N. human rights report says Sudanese troops and militia may be guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity
Government, rebels agree to African, EU ceasefire monitors
International donors conference seeks $236 million
Jun – Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir orders all groups in Darfur to be disarmed
Oct – Rwandan troops join Nigerian soldiers monitoring shaky ceasefire
Nov – Sudan signs two peace deals with rebels, banning military flights over Darfur and covering security and humanitarian access
Sudan says it has lifted all restrictions on aid workers and revoked a state of emergency in North Darfur state
Dec – Sudan agrees to stop military operations in Darfur and asks AU to request rebels do same
Dec 21 – Save the Children pulls staff out of Darfur after four killed
2005 
Mar – Sudan says has arrested military and security officials accused of rape, killing and burning villages
U.S. abstains as U.N. votes to refer war crimes suspects in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. ICC launches formal investigations in June
May – Donors pledge nearly $300 million to fund a bigger AU force
2006
Mar – Thousands protest in Khartoum against any deployment of U.N. troops to Darfur
Apr – Chad breaks off diplomatic relations, accusing Sudan of backing insurgents trying to overthrow Chad’s president
U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions on four Sudanese accused of abuses in Darfur
May – Sudan and an SLA faction sign peace deal. SLA rival faction and JEM reject deal
AU interpreter killed and Oxfam worker stabbed in demonstrations at camps in Darfur over peace accords and lack of protection
Jul – New SLA faction emerges. Chad starts trying to mend diplomatic relations with Khartoum. Relief International aid worker killed
Oct – U.N. Sudan mission head Jan Pronk expelled after saying army has suffered two major defeats at hands of rebels
Nov – U.N. says Sudan accepts the principle of allowing U.N. troops
Norwegian Refugee Council closes its Darfur operation, citing Sudanese government obstruction
Chad’s prime minister calls for a “general mobilisation” to counter what he says are Sudanese military attacks in eastern Chad
Dec – President Bashir endorses a three-step U.N. proposal to strengthen AU force with small number of U.N. troops and police
Two major attacks targeted at aid agency compounds force hundreds of relief workers to relocate temporarily
2007
Jan – Sudanese Air Force bombs two villages in north Darfur, disrupting plans for a meeting of rebel commanders to provide impetus for renewed dialogue
European Union threatens Sudan with sanctions if it refuses to allow U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur
Darfur police and security officials arrest 20 U.N., AU and aid workers at a social gathering. Five are beaten with rifles, and one accuses police of sexual assault
Feb – ICC chief prosecutor names Sudan’s humanitarian affairs minister and a militia commander as first suspects he wants tried for war crimes
Mar – U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes, on his first trip to Darfur, is barred from visiting a camp
SLM warns its peace agreement with the government is in danger of collapsing following clashes
Sudan signs agreement with U.N. pledging to give humanitarian groups better access in Darfur
U.S. threatens new sanctions on Khartoum but later agrees to hold off to give U.N. time to negotiate
Apr – Khartoum agrees to let 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur. Several aid agencies, including Oxfam, Save the Children Spain and Mercy Corps, temporarily suspend work in western Darfur because of violence
May – Sudan and Chad sign reconciliation deal. Washington tightens sanctions
Jul – Five rebel groups, including two SLA factions, unite to form the United Front for Liberation and Development (UFLD) ahead of possible peace talks
U.N. Security Council authorises up to 26,000 troops and police for a “hybrid” U.N.-African Union operation in Darfur and approves the use of force to protect civilians
Sept – AU soldiers killed after armed men launch an assault on the AU’s Haskanita base in Darfur. The base is destroyed
Oct – Armed groups raze government-held Haskanita town. Rebels say attack was carried out by government forces and militia groups
Rebels say government troops and allied militia attack Muhajiriya, a town controlled by the SLA. Government forces deny attack
Armed men kill three World Food Programme drivers in South Darfur
Government-backed militias attack Kalma refugee camp, South Darfur
Government forces attack Hamidiya refugee camp, West Darfur
JEM claims it has attacked Sudan’s Defra oil field in Kordofan, killing 20 government soldiers and taking two foreign hostages. It threatens more assaults on oil installations
Libya hosts peace talks between Khartoum, pro-government Arab militias and rebel forces. But key rebel factions stay away
2008
Jan – U.N.-AU peacekeeping force takes over from overstretched AU mission
Jan and Feb – Sudanese air and ground assaults near Chad border. U.N. report says 115 people killed and 30,000 driven from homes. It accuses army of raping and looting. Chad threatens to expel any more refugees arriving from Darfur
Mar – Sudan and Chad presidents sign non-aggression deal in effort to end cross-border rebel attacks
Apr – U.N. raises Darfur death toll estimate to 300,000 in five years, against previous estimate of 200,000. Khartoum gives figure of 10,000
Jul – ICC chief prosecutor charges Sudan’s president with masterminding genocide campaign, killing 35,000 people and persecuting 2.5 million. Khartoum dismisses charges
Bashir makes rare visit to Darfur
Aug – Bashir says he’ll ask peacekeepers to leave if ICC issues warrant
Oct – Bashir launches national initiative for peace with a forum to discuss the conflict. Rebel groups refuse to attend
Nov – Bashir announces ceasefire
2009
Feb – JEM and Khartoum sign goodwill agreement paving the way for peace talks. The agreement stops short of a ceasefire, and hostilities between the two sides continue
Mar – International Criminal Court issues arrest warrant for Bashir over war crimes in Darfur. Government expels 13 foreign aid groups from Sudan, and closes three local aid agencies in Darfur. The expulsion threatens aid programmes in south and east Sudan, as well as Darfur
2010
Apr – Omar al-Bashir wins Sudan’s first multi-party elections in 24 years. International observers criticise the election as falling short of international standards
July – International Criminal Court issues second arrest warrant for President al-Bashir on charges of genocide.
2011
Jan – The people of southern Sudan vote in favour of full independence from the north
February – Clashes between security forces and rebels in southern Sudan’s Jonglei state leave more than 100 dead
Fighting near Abyei
March – Government of South Sudan says it is suspending talks with the North, accusing it of plotting a coup
April – Airstrike – allegedly by Israel – hits a car near Port Sudan, in a case thought to involve weapons smuggling to militants in Gaza
May – Fighting breaks out in disputed region of Abyei, with most of the civilian population forced to flee
June – Violence escalates in oil-rich South Kordofan state, with reports of mass atrocities against civilians
July 9 – South Sudan to form independent country

                                           Thirteen: Timeline of International Response to the Situation In South Kordofan and Blue Nile States (from Global R2P).
This timeline provides a chronological list of important responses and actions from international
actors to the situation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States since violence began in June 2011.
Acronyms
AU –African Union
AUHIP – African Union High Level Implementation
Panel
BN – Blue Nile State
EU – European Union
GoS – Government of Sudan
GoSS – Government of South Sudan
ICC – International Criminal Court
ICRC – International Committee of the Red Cross
IDP – Internally Displaced Person
IGAD – Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development
JBVMM – Joint Border Verification and Monitoring
Mission
JPSM – Joint Political Security Mechanism
LAS – League of Arab States
MoU – Memorandum of Understanding of NonAggression and Cooperation
OCHA – Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs
OIC – Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
OHCHR – Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights
PRST – Presidential Statement
SK – South Kordofan
SPLA – Sudan People‟s Liberation Army
SPLM-N – Sudan People‟s Liberation MovementNorth
SAF – Sudanese Armed Forces
UN – United Nations
UNISFA – United Nations Interim Security Force for
Abyei
UNSC – United Nations Security Council
UNAMID – United Nations/African Union Hybrid
Operation in Darfur
UNMISS- United Nations Mission in South Sudan
USG – United States Government
WFP – World Food Programme
April 2012
19 April 2012
 Inter-Governmental Authority on Development IGAD Deeply Concerned by the Deterioration
of Relations Between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan: Calls on both states
to withdraw to their positions prior to recent outbreak of conflict. Calls upon parties to restart
negotiations on outstanding issues of the CPA and post-referendum arrangements. (Press Release)
18 April 2012
 Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia adds its voice to international
calls for conflict to end in Sudan: Foreign Minister Bob Carr has called for the immediate and unconditional end to the escalating violence between Sudan and South Sudan. Both sides must
respect international humanitarian law and must make the protection of civilians a priority. The
Australian Government is providing up to 25 Australian Defence Force personnel and 10
Australian Federal Police to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and provides ongoing
humanitarian and development assistance to South Sudan. (Media Release)
17 April 2012
 UNMISS SRSG Johnson urges Sudan and South Sudan to negotiate: Hilde Johnson stressed the
importance of both parties returning to negotiations. Acknowledged that Sudanese aerial
bombardments have put civilians at risk. Understands that UNMISS does not have the assets to
fulfill their civilian protection obligations against aerial bombardments. Stresses the need for both
parties to request a border mechanism, under the auspices of UNISFA, to verify further
developments along the border. (News Story)
 UNMISS UN to remain in Bentiu, despite bombings: Despite suffering three air strikes over the
past week, UN agencies and international organizations continue to operate in Bentiu, Unity
State. The bombardments have left an estimated 13 dead and 25 injured. (News Story)
 African Union The African Union reiterates its call to Sudan and South Sudan to act responsibly
and to heed the appeals made by the AU and the International Community for an immediate end
to the current conflict between the two countries: Concerned by the escalation in military
operations and the movement of troops towards and around Abyei. Refers to the draft JPSM
proposal of 4 April 2012: respect the decisions of the 18 December JPSM and the MoU; ensure
both parties respect international humanitarian law with regards to protection of civilians, the
injured and prisoners; respect the oil infrastructure and property of the other. For relieving future
tensions calls on both parties to adopt a security and administrative centre line for the border
which will be based on the border as established on 1January 1956. (Press Release)
16 April 2012
 UNMISS UNMISS statement about the bombing in Unity and Warrap States: “The loss of
civilian lives as a result of indiscriminate bombings in Bentiu and Mayom is unacceptable,” said
Hilde F. Johnson, UNMISS Special Representative to the Secretary-General. “It is the
responsibility of the parties to hostilities to respect the physical integrity of civilians and their
right to live without fear of displacement.” (Press Statement)
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the SecretaryGeneral on the situation in Sudan and South Sudan: Calls for a cessation in hostilities and for
both sides to respect international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians. Alarmed by
the military build-up in Abyei. (Statement)
 UN OHCHR Pillay urges Sudan and South Sudan to pull back from the brink: Pillay stressed the
obligation of both governments to respect international human rights and humanitarian law to
ensure the protection of civilians. Condemns the indiscriminate bombing of civilians by Sudanese
forces and attacks near the offices of international organizations. Alarmed by the unwarranted
occupation of Higlig by South Sudan. (Press Release)
12 April 2012
 United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement on the situation in Sudan and South
Sudan: The Security Council demands a complete, immediate, and unconditional: end to all
fighting; withdrawal of the SPLA from Heglig; end to SAF aerial bombardments; end to repeated
incidents of cross-border violence between Sudan and South Sudan; and an end to support by
both sides to proxies in the other country. (UNSC Presidential Statement)  United Nations Statement attributable to the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian
Coordinator in Sudan, Mr. Ali Al-Za’tari: Over 35,000 civilians have been displaced following
fighting in the Talodi and Higlig areas over the past two weeks. (Press Statement)
 African Union The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 317th meeting
held on12 April2012, was briefed by the Commission on the escalating armed conflict on the
common border between the Republic of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan.: Peace and
Security Council urged Sudan and South Sudan to implement the decisions outlined in the 18
September 2011 JPSM and in UNSC Resolution 2024 (2011). Calls the Heglig occupation by
South Sudan “illegal” and “unacceptable” and demands immediate withdrawal. Demands GoS to
end aerial bombardments of South Sudan. Stresses that there can be no military situations to
resolve the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. Calls upon both sides to reach a
political solution based on “respect for diversity in unity.” (Press Release)
 European Union Statement by the Spokesperson of EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton,
on armed border clashes between Sudan and South Sudan: States that the occupation of Higlig
by South Sudan as well as the bombardment of South Sudan by the SAF is unacceptable. Calls
for: the MoU to be respected, operationalization of the JBVMM and for negotiations to continue
under the auspices of the AUHIP. (Press Statement)
 Group of Eight G8 Foreign Ministers Meeting Chair’s Statement: Ministers call for an end to the
bombardment of civilian areas and for both sides to end support to proxy forces. (Press
Statement)
11 April 2012
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the SecretaryGeneral on the situation between Sudan and South Sudan: Calls for a cessation in hostilities and
for both sides to withdraw from the other‟s territory. Urges both Presidents to meet as soon as
possible. “Assures the peoples of Sudan and South Sudan that the United Nations stands ready to
extend all possible assistance to the leadership of both sides to maintain peace and stability in
Sudan and South Sudan.” (Statement)
 UK Foreign Office Statement by Henry Bellingham, Minister for Africa, calls for immediate halt
to fighting between Sudan and South Sudan: Calls for the cycles of violence to end since it
threatens the CPA. Admonishes GoSS‟ decision to occupy Higlig oilfields and continued
airstrikes by SAF over Unity State. (Press Release)
 US Government Statement by Victoria Nuland, State Department, on the increased military
attacks between Sudan and South Sudan: Condemns GoSS‟ military involvement in recent
conflict and GoS‟ continued aerial bombardments. Calls on both sides to withdraw immediately.
Also voices concerns over continued presence of Sudanese and South Sudanese security forces in
Abyei and calls for their withdrawal too. (Press Release)
 African Union The African Union Deeply Alarmed by the Escalating Conflict between Sudan
and South Sudan: Voices concern over the escalating violence as well as the occupation of parts
of the Heglig oil fields by the armed forces of the government of South Sudan. Calls on both
parties to respect the MoU. Affirms that, in accordance with the CPA, the border between Sudan
and South Sudan will be the boundary of 1956, taking into account the agreed disputed areas.
Calls on both parties to utilize the JPSM and operationlize the JBVMM. (Press Release)
 France Ministère des Affaires Étrangères et Européennes Tensions between Sudan and South
Sudan: Concerned by Sudanese air force bombings in South Sudan and the South Sudanese
armed forces capture of Higlig. Calls on both parties to withdraw, to respect the MoU and return
to negotiations under the auspices of the AUHIP. (Press Release)
05 April 2012 UN OHCHR Pillay condemns inflammatory statements by official, warns against dangerous
escalation of Southern Kordofan conflict: Concerned that comments by Ahmed Haroun,
regarding a „take no prisoners‟ policy being enacted in South Kordofan, could amount to a serious
crime and incite further violence. Calls for an independent investigation into human rights
violations in South Kordofan as well as access for humanitarian agencies. (Press Release)
03 April 2012
 US Government Statement by NSC Spokesman Tommy Vietor on Sudan: The President has
authorized the delivery of $26 million of aid to support the work of the UNHCR in assisting
refugees displaced by the conflict in SK/BN States. Calls on GoS to allow humanitarian agencies
to be given access to conflict affected areas. Calls on both Presidents to convene a meeting to
continue negotiations on outstanding issues.(Press Release)
 European Union Statement by EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton, concerning recent
statements by Sudanese officials regarding a “take no prisoners” policy: Regarding recent
remarks made by Ahmed Haroun, Ashton states that such a deliberate policy would constitute a
war crime. Calls upon GoS to ensure that SAF abide by international humanitarian laws at all
time. (Press Statement)
 International Committee of the Red Cross Operational Update of Activities from July 2011 to
February 2012. Concerns over the tens of thousands of IDPs who are fleeing the conflict in
SK/BN States. ICRC has „expressed a willingness‟ to GoS to expand its activities in affected
areas. Other actions taken by the ICRC in SK/BN States: worked to provide water access to
civilians and improve health-care facilities; vaccinated livestock to support nomadic pastoralist
communities; acted as a neutral intermediary assisting the release of 29 Chinese workers held by
the SPLM-N. (Operational Update)
02 April 2012
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the SecretaryGeneral on Sudan and South Sudan: Concerned over continued fighting on the border and calls
for an immediate cessation to hostilities and for both parties to implement agreements reached on
security, border demarcation and Abyei. Calls on both Presidents to meet as soon as possible to
conclude negotiations on outstanding issues. (Statement)
 US Government Readout of President Obama’s Call with President Kiir: President Obama
encouraged President Kiir to continue negotiations with GoS and to build on the citizenship
agreements. Expressed concerns over the border violence and urged GoSS to refrain from
unilateral action or supporting the conflicts along the border and in South Kordofan.
(Press Release)
 African Union AUC Deputy Chairperson Discusses Means of Preventing Genocide with Francis
Deng, UN Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities. (Press Release)
March 2012
30 March 2012
 Republic of South Africa Department of International Relations and Cooperation South
African Government’s response to the recent Military Confrontation between the Republic of
Sudan and South Sudan: President Zuma calls on both sides to refrain from violence as it has the
potential to heighten the risk posed to civilians and worsen the humanitarian situation. He called
on both States to utilize the JPSM and to continue negotiations under the auspices of the AUHIP.
(Press Statement)29 March 2012
 African Union Third Meeting of the Sudan – South Sudan consultative Forum Addis Ababa:
Participants deplored the humanitarian situation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile States. Called
on GoS to accept and implement the AU/UN/LAS Tri-Partite Proposal. The forum noted the lack
of trust between both sides during negotiations and how this is harming both the rights and
welfare of their citizens. Called on both parties to convene the planned Presidential Summit in
Juba. (Communiqué)
 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation OIC Secretary-General Statement at the twenty-third
Arab Summit: Expresses concern over the tense situation between Sudan and South Sudan. Calls
on both sides to resolve outstanding issues through negotiations and peaceful means.(Press
Release)
 United Nations Statement by UNAMID Joint Special Representative on recent events in
Kabkabiya. (Press Statement)
28 March 2012
 European Union Press Statement by the Spokesperson of EU High Representative, Catherine
Ashton, on the clashes in the border region between Sudan and South Sudan: Concerned by
recent escalation as well as ongoing border skirmishes and aerial bombardments. Calls on both
parties to exercise restraint and respect 10 February MoU. Urges parties to use Joint Political
Security Mechanism meeting in Addis to diffuse tensions and to attend Juba Summit. (Press
Statement)
27 March 2012
 United Nations Security Council Press Statement on the situation in Sudan and South Sudan:
The Council calls upon both parties to: exercise restraint and enter serious dialogue; utilize the
Joint Political Security Mechanism (JPSM) to diffuse tensions and operationalize the Joint Border
Verification and Monitoring Mission (JBVMM); repeats concerns in 6 March PRST on crossborder violence, support for proxies and troop buildup near border; reiterates requests for
humanitarian access and delivery; and for negotiations to continue under the auspices of AUHIP.
(UNSC Press Statement)
 African Union Statement by the Jean Ping on the Situation at the Border of Sudan and South
Sudan: Calls on both parties to respect MoU, withdraw their forces 10km from the border, and
establish the JBVMM and to halt support for proxy groups. Should use JPSM to diffuse tensions
and both JPSM and JBVMM should investigate the clashes. (Press Statement)
 US Government Statement by the White House Press Secretary on Clashes along the Border of
Sudan and South Sudan: Alarmed by fighting in South Kordofan and border area. Critical for
parties to continue with meetings on: JPSM and the Abyei Joint Operations Committee (March)
and Juba Summit. “We also urge Darfur armed movements and the Sudan People‟s Liberation
Movement–North to exercise restraint and cooperate fully with restoration of peace.” (Press
Release)
26 March 2012
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement on Sudan and South Sudan Negotiations and
border clashes: Concerned by violence and urges parties to respect previous agreements. Urges
parties to use existing peace/security mechanisms to resolve differences and encourages both
heads of state to attend Juba Summit. Calls for humanitarian access into South Kordofan.
(Statement)23 March 2012
 United Nations Secretary-General Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Abyei.
(Secretary-General Report)
22 March 2012
 US State Department Statement On Violence in Southern Kordofan and Negotiations Between
Sudan and South Sudan: USG raises concerns over intensifying violence between SAF and
SPLM-N and the impact this is having on relations between GoS and GoSS. USG calls upon GoS
and SPLM-N to agree to a ceasefire and for GoS to allow humanitarian access to civilians. Also
calls on GoSS to end military support for SPLM-N. “We strongly condemn all violations of
international human rights law and international humanitarian law in SKBN.” (Press Statement)
 UK Foreign Office Statement by Henry Bellingham, Minister for Africa, on violence on border
of Sudan and South Sudan. (Press Release)
20 March 2012
 European Union Press Statement following the meeting with Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of
South Sudan: Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Union, releases press statement
calling on GoS to urgently allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to South Kordofan and Blue
Nile states to alleviate the humanitarian situation. (Press Statement)
14 March 2012
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement on Sudan and South Sudan Negotiations:
Regarding agreements on citizenship and demarcations of borders. (Statement)
 United States Government U.S. Senate Resolution on Sudan: Calls on GoS and SPLM-N to
adhere to a ceasefire, allow humanitarian access and enter political dialogue. (U.S. Senate
Resolution)
7 March 2012
 United Nations Secretary-General Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan.
(Secretary-General Report)
6 March 2012
 United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement on the situation in Sudan and South
Sudan: Expresses support for tri-partite proposal and AU led mediation while calling for ceasefire
and humanitarian access in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Voices concerns over cross-border
violence between Sudan and South Sudan and calls on both governments to stop actions which
undermine sovereignty and security of the other. (UNSC Presidential Statement) (Video)
5 March 2012
 United Nations Security Council Presidential Statement on the situation in Sudan and South
Sudan: Expresses support for tri-partite proposal and AU led mediation while calling for ceasefire
and humanitarian access in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. Voices concerns over cross-border
violence between Sudan and South Sudan and calls on both governments to stop actions which
undermine sovereignty and security of the other. (UNSC Presidential Statement)
 African Union Press Release on negotiations between GoS and GoSS. (Press Release)2 March 2012
 UK Foreign Office Press Release by Foreign Secretary Hague expressing concern over border
violence between Sudan and South Sudan. (Press Release)
1 March 2012
 International Criminal Court The ICC issues a warrant of arrest for the Sudanese Minister
Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein. (Press Release) (Warrant)
February 2012
24 February 2012
 UN OCHA Press Statement on South Kordofan: Mark Cutts, United Nations Humanitarian
Coordinator in Sudan, welcomes the decision by GoS to allow UN staff back into South
Kordofan. Calls upon all parties to stop fighting and for the Tri-Partite Proposal to be
operationalized. (Press Statement)
19 February 2012
 African Union Press Release on Sudan and South Sudan border negotiations.(Press Release)
17 February 2012
 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2035(2012): Darfur and UNAMID. (UNSC
Resolution)
 United Nations OCHA Press Statement by Valerie Amos on Sudan: Calls upon GoS and SPLMN to allow immediate access for the delivery of humanitarian access.(Press Statement)
 African Union Press Release on Sudan and South Sudan nationality negotiations.(Press Release)
14 February 2012
 United Nations Security Council Press Statement by Council President Kodjo Menan (Togo):
Members voiced concerns over the dire humanitarian situation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile
and calls on GoS and SPLM-N to give access to UN humanitarian assessment teams as well as
for the delivery of aid. Encourages greater engagement from both sides with the UN, AU and
LAS. (Press Statement)
 African Union Statement by the Peace and Security Council: Welcoming the signing of the
Memorandum of Understanding on Non-Aggression and Cooperation. (Communiqué)
 African Union Report by the Chairperson of the Commission on the status of negotiations
between Sudan and South Sudan on outstanding issues. (Report)
13 February 2012
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement on Sudan and South Sudan Negotiations:
Regarding the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on Non-Aggression and
Cooperation. (Statement)
11 February 2012
 African Union Press Release: Welcoming the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on
Non-Aggression and Cooperation. (Press Release)10 February 2012
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement on Sudan and South Sudan Negotiations: Calls
upon both parties to make comprises to achieve peace. (Statement)
 African Union Press Release: Welcoming the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on
Non-Aggression and Cooperation. (Press Release)
 UK Foreign Office Press statement on situation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile: Concerns over
aerial bombardment by SAF in both states. Condemns SPLM-N taking Chinese workers hostage.
Calls for immediate humanitarian access and a ceasefire. (Press Statement)
9 February 2012
 African Union, United Nations and League of Arab States Tri-Partite Proposal for Access to
Provide and Deliver Humanitarian Assistance to War-Affected Civilians in South Kordofan and
Blue Nile States: Reminds all parties to the conflict their obligations under international
humanitarian law to facilitate humanitarian access to aid civilians affected by violence. 1) GoS
and SPLM-N should identify points of contact in order to establish modalities for the delivery of
humanitarian assistance. 2) Establishment of a Joint Humanitarian Oversight Committee to
oversee the delivery of humanitarian assistance. 3) The AU, LAS and UN to carry out joint
humanitarian assessment missions.4) The AU, LAS and UN will assist in the delivery of
humanitarian assistance. The WFP offer logistical services on behalf of the three organizations. 5)
All movements of humanitarian staff will be coordinated with the GoS‟ Humanitarian Aid
Commission. 6) Government authorities will verify all humanitarian cargo.7) AU, LAS and UN
monitors will observe deliveries to ensure they are reaching civilians. 8) AU, LAS and UN
monitors will assess whether there needs to be any changes to humanitarian needs. 9) Reports on
the monitoring will be shared regularly. 10) GoS and SPLM-N are responsible for safety and
security of all humanitarian staff and observers and their assets. (Joint Proposal)
2 February 2012
 US Government White House Press Secretary on situation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile:
Expresses concerns over the aerial bombardments in both states. Calls for humanitarian access to
alleviate situation on the ground. (Press Release)
January 2012
25 January 2012
 US State Department Special Briefing by Ambassador Lyman on issues of ongoing concern in
Sudan and South Sudan: Concerns over situation in South Kordofan and the need for immediate
humanitarian access. (Briefing)
20 January 2012
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement on Sudan and South Sudan violence near border:
Concerns over tensions on the border and the need for negotiations to continue under auspices of
the AUHIP. (Statement)
December 2011
24 December 2011 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2024(2011): Abyei and UNISFA. (UNSC
Resolution)
22 December 2011
 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2032(2011): Abyei and UNISFA. (UNSC
Resolution)
6 December 2011
 Sudan Troika Statement on negotiations between Sudan and South Sudan. (Statement)
1 December 2012
 International Criminal Court ICC Prosecutor Presents New Case in Darfur. (Press Release)
November 2011
14 November 2011
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement on tensions between Sudan and South Sudan.
(Statement)
10 November 2011
 US Government Statement on the bombings in South Sudan: Expresses concerns over the
bombing of Yida refugee camp by SAF forces. 20,000 IDPs have sought refuge in Yida from
South Kordofan. Calls for an immediate ceasefire and for GoS and SPLM-N to enter meaningful
negotiations (Press Statement)
September 2011
2 September 2011
 UK Foreign Office Statement by Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham, on violence in South
Kordofan: Calls on both GoS and SPLM-N to agree to a ceasefire. (Statement)
August 2011
30 August 2011
 United Nations OCHA Press Statement by Valerie Amos on Sudan: Calls upon GoS and SPLMN to allow immediate access for the delivery of humanitarian access.(Press Statement)
26 August 2011
 European Union Press Release voicing concern over lack of humanitarian access to South
Kordofan: Concerns over the lack of humanitarian access to affected areas despite Bashir‟s
announcement of a two week ceasefire. (Press Release)
15 August 2011 UN OHCHR Press Statement by UN Human Rights Office on situation in South Kordofan:
Concerns that crimes against humanity may have been committed in South Kordofan. (Press
Release)
July 2011
29 July 2011
 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2003(2011): Darfur and UNAMID. (UNSC
Resolution)
11 July 2011
 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1997(2011): Calls on Secretary-General to consult
with AU and other partners and present options for new security arrangements in South Kordofan
and Blue Nile, in line with June 28 Framework Agreement, to the UNSC. (UNSC Resolution)
8 July 2011
 United Nations Security Council Resolution 1996(2011): The UNSC bears in mind the 28 June
Framework Agreement between GoS and SPLM-N on Political and Security Arrangements in
South Kordofan and Blue Nile. (UNSC Resolution)
5 July 2011
 United Nations Secretary-General Statement on situation in South Kordofan: Calls for an
immediate ceasefire, ensure protection of civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian
assistance. (Statement)
June 2011
22 June 2011
 US Government Statement by President Obama on the situation in Abyei and South Kordofan:
Expresses concerns over humanitarian situation in South Kordofan and calls for a ceasefire in the
state. (Press Statement)
10 June 2011
 US Government Statement on the situation in South Kordofan: Expresses concerns over
escalating violence in the region. (Press Statement)

Fourteen: South Sudan Political Chronology (from the Worldstatesmen.org)

2 Sep 1898  – 1 Jan 1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Joint flag	19 Jan 1899 – 18 Jun 1953 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Joint flag	1 Jan 1956 – 20 May 1970
20 May 1970 – 9 Jul 2011	Adopted 9 Jul 2011

Map of South Sudan	Hear National Anthem “South Sudan Oyee!” (a.k.a. “God Bless South Sudan”)	Text of Local Anthem Adopted 9 Jul 2011	Constitution (9 Jul 2011; transitional)
Capital: Juba	Currency: South Sudan Pound; Sudanese Pound (SDG)	National Holiday: 9 Jul (2011) Independence Day	Population: 8,260,490 (2008)
GDP: $98.7 billion (2010)	Exports: $N/A (2010) Imports: $N/A (2010)	Ethnic groups: Dinka, Nuer, Bari, Lotuko, Kuku, Zande, Mundari, Kakwa, Pojulu, Shilluk, Moru, Acholi, Madi, Lulubo, Lokoya, Toposa, Lango, Didinga, Murle, Anuak, Makaraka, Mundu, Jur, Kaliko, Somali and others
Total Active Armed Forces: 40,150 (2010) UN Force in Southern Sudan: 10,418 (May 2011) Merchant marine: N/A (2011)		Religions:  Animist and traditional beliefs, Christian (Roman Catholic and Anglican), Sunni Muslim, other
International Organizations/Treaties: AfDB (applicant), APM, AU, C (applicant), COMESA, IBRD (applicant), ICAO, ICRC (observer), IFAD, IFRCS (observer), IGAD, IMF (applicant), Interpol, IOM, IPU, ITU, UN, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UPU, WFP, WHO
South Sudan Index Chronology26 May 1871                Equatoria province of Egyptian Sudan (see Sudan).  Apr 1889                   Part of the Mahdiya (see Sudan).  2 Sep 1898                Mahdiya extinguished by Britain. 12 May 1894 - 10 Jun 1910  Lado district leased to the Belgian Congo. 19 Jan 1899                Part of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (see Sudan). 1922 - 13 Jun 1947         Aborted British plan to administer the southern provinces of The Sudan separately from the northern provinces.  1 Jan 1956                Part of independent Republic of The Sudan. 28 Feb 1972 -  5 Jun 1983  Self-government for the three Southern provinces (Southern Sudan Autonomous Region) (included Equatoria, Bahr al-Ghazal and Upper Nile, capital at Juba).  5 Jun 1983 -  9 Jan 2005  Rebellion against the Sudanese government.  9 Jul 2005                Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan within The Sudan established. 9-15 Jan 2011             Referendum votes 98.83% for independence. 9 Jul 2011                Independence (Republic of South Sudan). States Southern Sudan Region (1972-2011) Governments in Exile  (1967-1970) Abyei Area Lado District (1897-1910) Shilluk Map of Civil War 1983-2005  Historical Maps of Sudan

President 
 9 Jul 2011 -              Salva Kiir Mayardit               (b. 1951)            SPLM 

Southern Sudan Region 

           9 Jul 2005 – 9 Jul 2011 Region Flag

Map of Southern Sudan	Capital: Juba	Hear Regional Anthem (former SPLM anthem) 2005-2011	Interim Constitution (6 Dec 2005 – 9 Jul 2011)
SPLA Force: 40,150 (2010)	Currency: Sudanese Pound (SDP)	Region Holiday: 16 May (1983) Founding of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army	Population: 8,260,490 (2008)

Chairmen of the Southern Region High Executive Council
 6 Apr 1972 - Feb 1978     Abel Alier (1st time)             (b. 1933)            SF
Feb 1978 - 12 Jul 1979     Joseph Lagu                       (b. 1931)            SANU
12 Jul 1979 - 30 May 1980  Peter Gatkuoth 
30 May 1980 -  5 Oct 1981  Abel Alier (2nd time)             (s.a.)               SF/SSU
 5 Oct 1981 - 23 Jun 1982  Gismalla Abdalla Rassas (interim)                      SSLM
23 Jun 1982 -  5 Jun 1983  Joseph James Tombura              (b. 1929? - d. ....) SANU
 5 Jun 1983 - 25 May 1985  Post abolished
25 May 1985 - May 1986     James Loro                                             SSU
May 1986 - May 1987        Post abolished
Chairmen of the Council for the South
31 Jan 1987 - Jan 1988     Matthew Abor Ayang
Jan 1988 - Jun 1989        Angelo Beda
Jun 1989 -  7 Aug 1997     Post abolished
Chairmen of the Southern Sudan Coordination Council
 7 Aug 1997 - 31 Jan 2000  Riek Mashar Teny                  (b. 1952)            SPLM-U
2000 - 2001                Angelo Beda (acting)
2001 -  9 Dec 2002         Galwak Deng                                            SNC
 9 Dec 2002 - 2005         Riek Gai Kok                                           SNC
Presidents of the Government of Southern Sudan
 9 Jul 2005 - 30 Jul 2005  John Garang de Maboir             (b. 1945 - d. 2005)  SPLM
 1 Aug 2005 -  9 Jul 2011  Salva Kiir Mayardit               (s.a.)               SPLM
                             (acting to 11 Aug 2005)

Rebel Leaders

1979 – 1990’s  SPLA/M flag

1990’s – 2005  SPLM flag

President of the Southern Sudan Liberation Front (SSLF)
(from Aug 1971, Southern Sudan Liberation Movement [SSLM])
Oct 1969 - 28 Mar 1972     Joseph Lagu                       (s.a.)               SSLF/SSLM
Chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)
 5 Jun 1983 -  9 Jan 2005  John Garang de Maboir             (s.a.)               SPLM

Governments in Exile (Based in Kampala, Uganda)

Aug 1967 – 27 Mar  1969   Southern Sudan Provisional Government

Mar 1969 – 23 Jul 1970 Nile State

15 Jul 1969 – Apr 1970 Anya-Naya flag

President of the Southern Sudan Provisional Government
15 Aug 1967 - 27 Mar 1969  Aggrey Jaden                      (b. 1924 - d. 1985)  ALF
President of the Nile Provisional Government (NPG)
Mar 1969 - 23 Jul 1970     Gordon Mayen Muortat (Mortat)     (b. 1922 - d. 2008)
President of the Anyidi Revolutionary Government (in opposition to NPG) 
15 Jul 1969 - Apr 1970     Emilio Tafeng                     (b. c.1910)          Mil/AN

Party abbreviations: SNC = Sudanese National Congress Party (mainly Arab/Muslim, Islamist);
SANU = Sudan African National Union; SPLM = Sudan People's Liberation Movement (pro-southern autonomy, political arm of Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army SPLA, est.1983); SSIM = Southern Sudan Independence Movement (SPLM break-away, est.Aug 1991 by Riak Machar); SSLM = Southern Sudan Liberation Movement (Southern Sudan regionalist, to Aug 1971 SSLF; est.20-30,000 [2002]); Mil = Military;
- Former parties: ALF = Azanian Liberation Front; AN = Anya-Naya (militant southern Sudan separatist, 1970 absorbed by SSLF); SF = Southern Front; SPLM-U = Sudan People's Liberation Movement-United (break away faction of SPLM); SSLF = Southern Sudan Liberation Front (renamed Aug 1971, SSLM)

Territorial Disputes: South Sudan-Sudan boundary represents 1 Jan 1956 alignment, final alignment pending negotiations and demarcation; final sovereignty status of Abyei region pending negotiations between South Sudan and Sudan; periodic violent skirmishes with South Sudanese residents over water and grazing rights persist among related pastoral populations along the border with the Central African Republic; the boundary that separates Kenya and South Sudan's sovereignty is unclear in the "Ilemi Triangle," which Kenya has administered since colonial times.

---

Lado District

             15 Jan 1897 – 10 Jun 1910 

Map of Lado District

Capital: Rejaf (Redjaf) (principal post)

Population: 250,000

May 1892                   First Congolese expedition in the Bahr al-Ghazal.

12 May 1894                British-Belgian Congolese Treaty. In order to prevent a French

                             take over of the Bahr al-Ghazal and to open a "second front" 

                             against the Mahdists, the British leased for the lifetime of 

                             Leopold II the Bahr al-Ghazal (region between the Nile, 

                             Lake Albert, 10° Northern Latitude and 25° Western Longitude) 

                             to Congo. The Congo agrees to only occupy the zone between the

                             Nile, Lake Albert, 5°30' NL and 30° WL (later Lado district).

15 Jan 1897                Congolese troops start occupying the territory. Limited to the 

                             south (Lado district/enclave) the occupation later extends 

                             to other parts of Bahr al-Ghazal.

19 Jan 1899                Britain proclaims the Bahr al-Ghazal a part of the Anglo-Egyptian

                             Sudan. Belgian Congolese presence and expansion continues.

 9 May 1906                British-Belgian Congolese Treaty, the lease of the Bahr al-Ghazal

                             is canceled, only the Lado enclave remains leased to the 

                             Belgian Congo for King Leopold's lifetime.

 3 Aug 1907                Last Congolese troops leave Bahral-Ghazal (except Lado).

10 Jun 1910                Lado district restored to Sudan; part of Bahr al-Ghazal province. 

 

Commandants Supérieur of the District of Uele and Lado 
15 Jan 1897 - 1898         Louis Napoléon Chaltin (1st time)    (b. 1857 - d. 1933)
1898 - Jan 1899            Léon Hanolet (1st time)              (b. 1859 – d. 1908)
Jan 1899 - 1900            Josué Henry de la Lindi              (b. 1869 - d. 1957)
 1 May 1900 - 1902         Louis Napoléon Chaltin (2nd time)    (s.a.)
Mar 1902 - Jan 1903        Léon Hanolet (2nd time)              (s.a.)
Feb 1903 –  8 May 1904     Georges-François Wtterwulghe         (b. 1871 – d. 1904)
May 1904 - 1905            Florian Wacquez                      (b. 1870 - d. 19..)
1905 - May 1907            Ferdinand baron de Rennette de       (b. 1869 - d. 19..)
Villers-Perwin (acting to Aug 1906)
Commandants of the Lado Enclave
Aug 1900 - 190.            Gustave Renier                       (b. 1867 - d. 1914)
190. - Aug 1903            Albéric Bruneel
Aug 1903 - Mar 1905        Henri Serexhe
Mar 1905 - Jan 1908        Guillaume-Léopold Olaerts            (b. 1867 - d. 19..)
Jan 1908 - Apr 1909        Léon Preudhomme                      (b. 1871 - d. 19..)
Apr 1909 - 1910            Bertrand
1910 - Jun 1910            de Meulenaere

---

Shilluk (Chollo)

to c.2011

Adopted c.2011

Reths
.... - ....                Nyikang
.... - ....                Col wad Nyikang
.... - ....                Dak wad Nyikang
.... - c.1600              Nyidoro wad Dak
c.1600 - c.1635            Odak Ocwolo wad Dak
c.1635 - c.1650            Duwat wad Ocwolo
c.1650 - c.1660            Bwoc wad Duwat
c.1660 - c.1661            Akac
c.1661 - c.1667            Abudok nya Bwoc (f)
c.1667 - c.1690            Tokot wad Bwoc
c.1690 - c.1710            Tugo wad Tokot
c.1710 - c.1715            Okon wad Tugo
c.1715 - c.1745            Nyadwai wad Tugo
c.1740 - c.1745            Ngu Abab (in rebellion)
c.1745 - c.1750            Muko wad Nyadwai
c.1750 - c.1760            Wak wad Nyadwai
c.1760 - c.1770            Tyelgut wad Nyadwai
c.1770 - c.1780            Kudit wad Okon
c.1780 - c.1820            Yor Nyakwac wad Kudit
c.1820 - c.1825            Aney wad Nyakwac
c.1825 - c.1835            Akwot wad Nyakwac
c.1835 - c.1840            Awin wad Nyakwac
c.1840 - c.1845            Akoc wad Akwot
c.1845 - Feb 1859          Nyidok wad Nyakwac                 (d. 1859)
c.1859                     Acin wad Akwot
c.1859 - c.1870            Kwadker wad Akwot
c.1870 - 1875              Ajang wad Nyidok                   (d. 1875)
1875                       Dedunyal wad Ajang
1875 - 1876                Vacant
1876 - 1881                Kuikon wad Kwadker
1881 - 1892                Yor wad Akoc
1892 - 1903                Kur Galdwan wad Nyidok
1903 - 1917                Fadyet wad Kwadker                 (d. 1917)
1917 - Sep 1943            Fafiti wad Yor                     (d. 1943)
15 Mar 1944 - Nov 1945     Aney wad Kur                       (b. c.1900 - d. 1945)
Jan 1946 -  8 May 1951     Dak wad Fadyet                     (d. 1951)
Feb 1952 - 1974            Kur wad Fafiti                     (b. 1928 - d. 1974)
1974 - 19..                Tipo wad Aney
1984? - Jun 1992           Ayang wad Aney                     (d. 1992)
 4 Aug 1993 -              Kwongo wad Dak 

© Ben Cahoon

Fifteen: Timeline: South Sudan referendum (from Christian Science Monitor)

Key events on the path to Sunday’s historic Sudan referendum, in which the semiautonomous region of South Sudan votes whether to become an independent nation.

By Staff / January 6, 2011

 Sudan OIL & CONFLICT TIMELINE (from Sudan-Update)

Sudan OIL & CONFLICT TIMELINE (from Sudan-Update)

1955Beginning of first civil war between north and south.1956Independence – end of British-Egyptian condominium rule.1958 General Abboud’s military coup in November overthrows first civilian government. 1960s Early oil exploration begun by Agip in the Red Sea 1964 October 1964: Abboud regime toppled by popular uprising Port Sudan refinery comes on-stream, operated by Shell and BP (Sudan) Ltd., a company set up in 1962 between Royal Dutch/Shell and BP. Capacity of 20,000 b/d later expanded to 25,000 b/d in early 1970s. (Shell still owns Port Sudan refinery) 1969 Jaafar Nimeiri becomes president after “May Revolution”; briefly anti-Western. 1970 January 70: Nimeiri nationalises all banks, sequesters many large companies. March 70: Nimeiri crushes potential Ansar/Umma insurrection – bombs White Nile Aba island base; Imam al-Hadi al-Mahdi killed fleeing towards Ethiopia. November 70: Nimeiri sacks communists from his government 1971 July 71: Failed communist coup d’etat; Nimeiri kicks out Soviet advisors, opens door to China. 1972 Relations resume with US and West July 72: Addis Ababa Agreement, with autonomy for the South, ends 17 years of civil war 1973 Large-scale Sudanese emigration to the increasingly wealthy Arab oil states. March 73: US ambassador C.A Noel assassinated in Khartoum. August 73: Attempted uprising by Muslim Brotherhood and Umma Party 1974 Chevron begins operations in Red Sea, and near Bentiu, Malakal and Muglad in S / SW. Concession is originally granted to Chevron, with Shell subsequently taking a 25% interest. Over the next 20 years, Chevron and Shell spend an estimated US$1bn, shoot “extensive seismic”, and drill “52 wells, including 34 suspended oil wells capable of re-completion for production.” 1975 Sudan is called potential “breadbasket of the Arab world”; large-scale mechanised agriculture expands into southern Kordofan; huge influx of international capital. Loans to Sudan begin accumulating – leading to present day unpayable arrears. September 75: Attempted anti-Nimeiri coup by “National Front” – an Umma/DUP/Muslim Brotherhood coalition. 1976 Chevron makes Suakin Red Sea gas discovery. July 76: Failed coup attempt by Ansar (of Sadiq al-Mahdi‘s Umma party) and Muslim Brotherhood 1977 Sadiq al-Mahdi holds “reconciliation” with President Nimeiri (see photo) – but doesn’t consult his followers. 1977: “OPEN DOOR” FREE-MARKET POLICIES ADOPTED 1978 1978: First Chevron oil discoveries near Bentiu and Heglig. “More than Saudi Arabia – 15m b/d,” claims Lebanese newspaper Joint Sudanese-Egyptian financing project is launched to construct the Jonglei Canal through Sudd marshes of the South, employing the French CCI company’s redundant giant excavator. Economic crisis – international primary commodity prices plummet and imported oil prices soar. IMF intervenes and negotiates “structural adjustment”. First devaluation. 1979 February 79: US Secretary of Defense promises to sell jet fighters, tanks and other arms to Sudan. October – US Senate approves $1.7m in additional military assistance to Sudan (after several previous larger weapons deals). 1980 JONGLEI CANAL construction begins, despite local protests. Nimeiri embarks on “redivision” of the south from one autonomous unit to three states; a map attached to the Regional Government bill puts the area where oil has been found into northern Sudan. His creation of new “Unity” state around Bentiu to prise it from the south causes political upheaval among southerners, as does presidential decree that oil refinery is to be built at Kosti, in the north, instead of Bentiu. 1981 Chevron discovers commercial oil deposits in the “Unity (South)” field north of Bentiu. With neighbouring Heglig field in S. Kordofan, recoverable reserves are estimated at 236m barrels. August 81: White Nile Petroleum Corporation is formed by Chevron and Sudan government. There are no southerners on the board. 1982 January 82: Petrol shortages spark serious disturbances. For the first time, Nimeiri’s army command voices disapproval of the situation in the country and the corruption of his cronies. September 82: Kosti refinery project “frozen” in favour of pipeline plan. 1983 Nimeiri completes “redivision” of South; sacks vice-presidents Abel Alier and Joseph Lagu. April 1983: Civil war re-ignites after mutinies by army commanders Arok Thon Arok, Kerubino Kuanyin, John Garang and others lead to formation of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA). September 1983: Nimeiri introduces “sharia” laws – used by his regime to terrorise and humiliate, with indefinite detention, public floggings, amputations – and death penalty for “heretics”. White Nile Petroleum Company (owned by government, Chevron, Shell and Apicorp) created to build 1,420-km export line from Unity and Heglig via Kosti to Red Sea terminal between Port Sudan and Suakin; projected cost US$1bn. 1984 Nimeiri uses southern ethnic Nuer “Anya Nya Two” militia against SPLA in the oilfields. March 1984: SPLA attacks oil fields in the south; Chevron suspends operations. Three expatriate Chevron workers are kidnapped from Rub Kona base, near Bentiu, and killed. July 84: Government signs deal with Trans-African Pipeline Co. of US to build 1,760-km pipeline across Sudan to Central African Republic. (It was never built.) JONGLEI CANAL WORK IS HALTED BY SPLA Adnan Khashoggi is offered all-in oil deal by Nimeiri, making implicit threat to Chevron to resume operations. 1985 Fighting in southern Sudan escalates to highest levels yet. Khartoum and other towns fill with people displaced by war in south and famine in west. War spending is double that for education and health. Anti-Nimeiri alliance of trades unions, professional associations and student bodies co-ordinates opposition, establishes extensive clandestine network of banned political parties, women and youth associations, as well as cells within the army and police. April 1985: Massive demonstrations precede a general strike that paralyses the country; Nimeiri is overthrown by army after popular uprising. SPLA rejects peace overtures of transitional military junta headed by his former Defence Minister. 1986 April-May – Parliamentary Elections – Sadiq al-Mahdi becomes Prime Minister of a series of coalitions. No voting in half the 86 southern constituencies on grounds of “insecurity”. November 86 : Government shelves all contracts for $375m oil pipeline proposal by White Nile Petroleum consortium (Chevron, Royal Dutch/Shell, Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation, International Finance Corporation and Sudan government), despite complaints from partners. 1987 “Anya-Nya Two” militia breaks up after SPLA’s 1986 military successes; senior commanders defect with virtually entire units to SPLA. 1988 Chevron resumes its activities, planning a six-year exploration and drilling program. China buys part of Chevron concession. Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and his Minister of Defence, Gen (rtd) Mubarak Osman Rahma, (Nimeiri’s last ambassador to Beijing), sign large arms deal with China. Sadiq does not stay in power long enough to take delivery of the weapons. 1989 January-March 89: SPLA “New Kush” Division enters Nuba Mountains led by Yusif Kuwa.advance close to Kadugli, Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan, overrunning police posts. Despite SPLA-government ceasefire, SPLA units infiltrate Tulushi in the western hills. April 89: Government transfers remnants of the anti-SPLA militia “Anya Nya Two” to Kadugli, where they gain a reputation for ruthlessness. Over 200 Nuba in Kadugli are detained, including many members of the Sudan National Party. Several are summarily executed. 30 June 1989: Lt-Gen al-Bashir and Hassan al-Turabi’s National Islamic Front (NIF) stage military coup NIF overthrows Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi’s elected government, aborting peace process and upcoming constitutional conference with SPLA. War escalates in the South; large shipments of arms from China (ordered by Sadiq) are paid for by Iran. November 89: In Upper Nile, “Anya-Nya Two” forces allied with Army against SPLA disrupt guerrilla supply lines between Bahr al-Ghazal and Ethiopia. 1990 1990: Chevron finally quits and relinquishes all its concessions, after spending more than $1billion. January 90: Khartoum reaches deal with Libya for free supply of 600,000 tons of oil (agreement extended twice until May 1991 but supply proves erratic). April 90: Extrajudicial execution of 28 military officers and unspecified numbers of NCOs and soldiers follows anti-NIF coup attempt. June 90: Garang announces upcoming SPLA talks with Bashir. August 90: Gulf War breaks out. Khartoum backs Iraq and is boycotted by Gulf Co-operation Council. Riyadh suspends supplies. September 90: Iran‘s president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani declares his support for Sudan and describes the war in the South as a “holy war”. More than 60 lawyers and judges, including at least eight from the High Court and the Deputy Chief Justice, are dismissed. Fifteen Nuba NCOs in the Sudanese army are executed for “plotting and collaborating with the SPLA”, after 45 officers are arrested. 1991 SPLA peace negotiations with regime sponsored by Kenya. March 91: Visit to China by Sudan’s military chief of logistics: an arms contract worth US$300m is reportedly signed, to be financed by the NIF with funds from Iran. Two helicopters, one hundred 1,000-pound high altitude bombs and assorted ammunition are later shipped to Port Sudan. China sends team to instruct Sudanese pilots and aircrews in high altitude bombing. Bombardments of civilian targets in the South increase. May 91: Overthrow of Mengistu Haile Mariam of Ethiopia. Weakened by the subsequent loss of logistical support from Ethiopia, the SPLA, which at this point holds 90% of the rural areas and several towns, loses considerable ground to government forces over the next three years. August 1991: SPLA Commanders Riek Machar and Lam Akol lead unsuccessful “creeping coup” attempt against John Garang; form breakaway “Nasir” faction (later “SPLA-United / Southern Sudan Independence Movement”) with allies mainly from Upper Nile’s Nuer and Shilluk. Army seals off the Nuba Mountains (South Kordofan) and begins scorched earth operations. December 91: Iran’s Hashemi Rafsanjani heads delegation of 157 officials, 80 from military/intelligence; signs protocols on economic, political and military and intelligence matters. Washington expresses “interest and concern”. Iran denies enlisting help in providing new bases for Hezbollah but is willing to train Sudan army personnel: hundreds are being trained in security methods by revolutionary guards. Tehran supplies Sudan with oil and a $17m loan, and agrees to write off a $150m loan given to Nimeiri by the late Shah. 1992 Government begins forcible mass relocation of Nuba civilians to “peace villages” – displaced persons’ camps. January 92: Sudan signs Red Sea exploration agreement with Canadian International Petroleum Corporation (now Lundin) to undertake geophysical studies in a 38,400sq.km onshore and offshore concession between Tokar, 180km S of Port Sudan, and Halaib. Minister for Energy and Mines Uthman Abd al-Wahhab says prospecting can start immediately. Initial six-year agreement renewable for 25 years. February 92: Dispute with Egypt over rights to Halaib area beside Red Sea: Cairo proposes to license a maritime area extending south to latitude 22oN, implying a territorial claim. Visiting Cairo, Sudanese RCC Deputy Chairman and Deputy Prime Minister Brig-Gen Zubeir Muhammad Salih raises the issue; Egyptian Oil and Mineral Resources Minister Hamdi Ali Abd al-Wahhab Banbi says region belongs to Egypt. UN General Assembly condemns Sudan’s NIF regime for gross violations of human rights. Oil production begins to gather pace after government troops seize large areas in the south from faction-fighting rebels. February 92: Sudan government seeks support for oil from investors including Canada’s IPC (Lundin Group) 5 June 92: SPLA negotiations with regime sponsored by Nigeria in Abuja close down in failure. The NIF, believing it is winning the war, is intransigent. It rules out SPLA options of unity under a secular democratic system, or self-determination for South Sudan and marginal areas through a referendum. 30 June 92: On the third anniversary of its military coup, the NIF says it expects to announce the resumption of crude oil production in southern Kordofan. A Sudanese company will be responsible for refining the petroleum, expected to be produced at 120,000 b/d. 7 June 92: Minister of Energy and Mining Dr Osman Abd al-Wahhab inspects Abu Jabra oilfield at Muglad in SW Sudan. ‘Five wells have been drilled, two of them are productive with a capacity of 1500 and 500 b/d respectively,’ reports SUNA. 7-8 June 92: SPLA commando forces enter Juba, largest town in the south. They occupy the HQ of the Southern Military Command for three hours, then withdraw to hold six army garrisons on the outskirts of the town. SPLA claims that hundreds of Southern Sudanese soldiers and officers joined them. 9 June 92: Government radio says attack on Juba has been repulsed, and that life in Juba is ‘normal’. 11 June 92: Lt-Gen al-Bashir and senior officials fly into Juba for briefing. June-July 92: Chevron ends 17-year involvement in Sudan Sale by TransOcean Chevron Co. of upstream holdings – 42m acres – to Sudanese company Concorp, for a token $25m. June-July 92: After SPLA invasion of Juba fails, government forces embark on retaliatory massacre. More than 200 are killed in the streets or executed. Another 232 citizens are arrested and taken to the “White House” (Security HQ) and ‘disappear’. Catholic bishops say that the army has “turned on civilians”, killing and burning homes of suspected SPLA sympathisers. A quarter of a million homeless people are herded into a stadium, hospitals and church buildings after their camps are razed. Five foreign missionaries are forced to leave; civilian bodies are found floating in the Nile. Present in Juba is Fatih Erwa, later head of Sudan Mission to the UN in New York. mid-1992: The NIF government signs a contract to pay US$300,000 a year to the Pagolis and Donnelly Group to improve its public image. 28 July 92: Arakis Energy of Canada says London-based Triad International (Pvt) Ltd. is willing to put up $25m to buy Chevron’s Sudan project. August-September 92: Concorp International – president and owner Mohammed Abdallah Jar al-Nabi – acquires Chevron’s Sudan interests. Concorp begins commercial oil production and refining begin at Abu Jabra, a small topping refinery near Muglad, South Kordofan, with capacity of 2,000 b/d.. Critics say income from initial sales supports NIF’s civilian militia. September 92: Egypt “annexes” the Red Sea enclave of Halaib October 92: Chevron sells prospecting rights to Concorp. October 92: Concorp owner, Sudanese businessman M.A Jar al-Nabi, senior NIF financier, sells Chevron concessions to Arakis Energy Corp. and State Petroleum Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Arakis, headed by Pakistani national Lutfur Khan. State and Arakis say concessions hold potential 3.5-5 billion barrels of oil. Finance and Economic Planning Minister Hamdi says Iraq will provide technical assistance. 7 December 92: Oil field and refinery in Abu Jabra, south Kordofan, officially opened by Lt-Gen al-Bashir – followed by a thanksgiving at the new Khayrat mosque, where Bashir assures worshippers that the Sudanese people have “now broken free from their bonds and will longer be bothered by condemnations from outside organisations.” 7 December 92: Arakis signs memorandum of understanding with Sudan government; Concorp International Ltd Khartoum completes purchase of TransOcean Chevron Co’s shares of Chevron Oil Co. of Sudan for undisclosed price. 1993 Egypt and Sudan at loggerheads over territorial rights to Halaib, prompted by Sudan granting oil exploration concession. Each accuses the other of harbouring opposition elements. 1993: Sudan fails to pay arrears to World Bank and Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, who suspend loans. SPLA’s John Garang proposes referendum on Southern self-determination. 1993: US State Department adds Sudan to its list of states sponsoring terrorism. Talks between government representative Ali al-Haj Muhammad and SPLA-United’s Dr Lam Akol in Fashoda, during coronation of the new Shilluk king: Akol is accused of complicity with the NIF. 12 January 93: Arakis engineering and production team in Khartoum to identify cost of bringing Sudan oil into production at rate of 40,000 b/d in 1995. Arakis says its 75% owned concession contains estimated 1.4-bn bbl of oil of which 280m are proven recoverable, and that concession has potential to develop additional 3.5bn bbl. Iraqi MiG-23 aircraft that fled to Iran in the Gulf War have allegedly been refitted by Iran for use by the Sudanese air force against the SPLA in South Sudan. Lt-Gen Abdel Rahman Said, former army deputy chief of staff and now leading the Sudanese opposition Armed Forces Legitimate Command, says Baghdad was a party to the deal, and that the MiGs – ‘the only type of Iraqi plane that Sudan can maintain’ would go back to Iraq after an unspecified period. He claims Iran has delivered “between 60 and 90 tanks” to Khartoum, as well as long-range howitzers, ammunition and lorries. 25 January 93: Lutfur Rahman Khan of Arakis says State chose it as a partner because of its ability to raise investment capital. Analysts say State and Arakis are exaggerating the recoverable reserves of the Sudanese fields. February 93: ‘Tiny’ Rowland, chairman of the Lonrho group and long-time backroom operator in African politics, reveals that for the last nine years he has been a member of the SPLM/SPLA. He goes on to say: “The war in Sudan is unwinnable and must come to an end.” Shuttle diplomacy: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni visits Khartoum; Rowland makes a trip to Sudan at the same time. Ali al-Haj goes to Entebbe, Uganda, to meet Garang. Museveni wants to reunite the SPLA. The leader of the Nasir faction, Lam Akol, announces that meetings with such a goal could take place in mid-March in Nairobi. But “Entebbe declaration” does not remove any of the current obstacles to the peace talks. March 93: Fuel shortages and lack of funds to import petrol and diesel and to operate power stations and bakeries. Envoys to Iran asking for help include Dr Ahmed Awad al-Jaz, Minister of State for Presidential Affairs. Iran, although positive, wants a European country as third-party guarantor; negotiations reach deadlock and Sudan receives nothing. 27 April 93: Peace talks resume in Abuja, Nigeria; Garang and Machar both absent. June 93: Arakis Energy Corp (AKSEF) begins trading stock on Nasdaq exchange. June 93: Government sub-divides Chevron’s concessions into smaller exploration blocks; Arakis Energy acquires the portion of Chevron’s concession north of the town of Bentiu. Arakis says it has no connections with the Triad company (owned by former arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, who was used as a bargaining chip over oil deals with Chevron by Nimeiri in 1985). 29 August 93: State Petroleum enters into exploration and production sharing agreement with Sudan government. State subsequently spends $125m to explore and develop project, and discovers Toma South and El Toor fields in Unity exploration area. September 1993: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda and Kenya establish a committee to resolve the civil war in Sudan, as members of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). 1994 Terry Alexander becomes president of Arakis January 94: Row with Britain: Archbishop of Canterbury, his wife and two officials fly to South Sudan for three days and meet rival SPLA faction leaders. At New Year Independence anniversary celebrations Lt-Gen al-Bashir says the expulsion of Ambassador Peter Streams – in the row over Dr Carey’s visit – will teach the British a lesson. Britain expels Sudan’s ambassador to London, Ali Osman Muhammad Yasin, who also works for the Attorney-General and is Sudan’s ambassador to the UN. mid-January 94: Representatives of Chinese companies accompany China’s Vice-Premier and minister of foreign affairs to Khartoum. Agreements signed on banking, oil exploration and mining, light and heavy industry, agriculture, fisheries and pharmaceuticals.. end January 94: Unprecedented build-up of government forces in Southern Sudan: soldiers and supplies moved by rail and barge to Wau and Juba. Clashes with SPLA-Mainstream are reported on the road parallel to the Aweil-Wau railway; in southern Bahr al-Ghazal; between Yei and Morobo, and between Juba and Kit. The government claims to have taken Nasir, Waat and Ayod from SPLA-United. January 94: In France, ministers Salah al-Din Karrar (Energy and Mining), Ali al-Haj (Federal Affairs, ex- Investment and Planning) and Abdullah Hassan Ahmed (Finance) said to have talked to Iranex (French gum arabic co.), BTP (construction), Total and Airbus. Senior intelligence officers from the Nimeiri days who frequently visit Paris include US-trained Hashim ba’Saeed and Fatih Erwa. end January 1994: Repeated aerial bombing forces over 1,000 Equatorian refugees daily into Uganda. end January 94: Fighting on three fronts in Nuba Mountains, South Kordofan. Mass killing, burning and rape reported from Bangili and Tagoma, east of Dilling. In Delami, crops are burned in the fields and wells are poisoned by the NIF’s Popular Defence Force. Displaced women and young children are taken by security forces to the Rahmaniyya “Peace Camp”, reportedly a “breeding camp” to “Arabise” future generations. Older boys are taken to special camps for religious indoctrination and military training. February 94: Machine-gun attack on minority Ansar al-Sunna al-Muhammadiya mosque in Omdurman – 19 dead. Two men are later shot dead and two wounded and arrested after a shooting incident outside the house of Saudi tycoon Usama bin Laden in Khartoum. The regime links the incidents. February 94: New opposition Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance launched in London by ex-Darfur Governor Ahmed Ibrahim Diraige with Nuba spokesman Suleiman Rahhal. 10 February 94: Seven security officers and Iranian advisor found dead in al-Hufra, eastern Sudan. Khartoum retaliates by confiscating 360 trucks from the Rashayda people of the area. Subsequent water shortage – some were used to carry water – is blamed for the deaths of seven children. 12 February 94: Sudan accuses Britain’s Parliament of supporting “rebellion” after MPs’ meetings with the Sudanese opposition are held at Westminster. 12 February 1994: In Nairobi, Riek Machar calls for UN intervention in Sudan and an oil and arms embargo on Khartoum. March 94: After Washington’s directive ordering US banks not to endorse Sudanese letters of credit, Sudan orders its banks to stop dealings with the US. Lam Akol dismissed from SPLA-United; challenges Riek Machar and claims to command forces in mid-west Upper Nile under the name SPLA-U. SPLA-United commanders Faustino and Kerubino advance into Wunrok, northern Bahr al-Ghazal. Thousands die in faction fighting. March 94: 14 years after gaining exploration rights over 120,000 sq.km in Bahr al-Ghazal province, French oil company Total suspends all activities and withdraws because of escalation of civil war. March 94: Lundin family buys 8.2 percent of Arakis stock through their holding in Swedish company Sands Petroleum AB. 11 May 94: Arakis acquires State Petroleum, gains control of the Sudan concessions in Unity and Heglig. (All of the issued and outstanding common stock in exchange for 6,000,000 Arakis shares + finder’s fee of 150,000 shares with aggregate deemed value of $13m, according to Arakis 1996 report) May 94: Malaysian telecommunications company signs memorandum to take shares in Sudatel, the privatised Sudan Telecommunications Company. June 94: Liquidation of the General Petroleum Corporation. Energy Minister Salah ad-Din Karrar admits that Sud£238m were stolen by a businessman who was given the money to buy dollars from the black market on the corporation’s behalf. Recent petrol shortage was due to one client of the GPC diverting a sum of US$7m to his personal account and failing to deliver the goods. The deficit in the GPC budget is Sud£9bn. August 94: Hassan al-Turabi makes clandestine visit to Paris, invites French involvement in oil exploration September 94: Peace negotiations: “Despite reservations”, John Garang’s Mainstream SPLM/A endorses the Inter-Government Authority on Development (IGAD) Declaration of Principles for talks in Nairobi with the Sudan government, stressing self-determination and separating religion from state. September 94: Reconciliation conference in Akobo, Upper Nile, between the Lou and Jikany clans of the Nuer, organised by local SPLA splinter groups, local chiefs and Presbyterian church. For two years disputes between the clans had intensified, with over 1000 dead. Soldiers in the area supported their own clans, becoming involved in fighting rather than intervening to stop it. 30 September 94: Riak Machar’s breakaway SPLA-United “Nasir” faction announces change of name to Southern Sudan Independence Movement (SSIM). Lam Akol, dismissed from the movement earlier this year, had announced separately that he was the chairman of the United faction, and claimed to have deposed Machar. Arrears with the African Development Bank: Dr Muhammad Kheir al-Zubair, Minister of State for Finance, says the near future will see more co-operation with international and regional financial institutions. September-October 94: Eritrea accuses Sudan of training more than 400 ‘terrorists’ with a view to undermining its security. Sudan accuses Eritrea of training 300 Sudanese opposition guerrillas for cross-border raids; Eritrea severs diplomatic relations with Sudan. October 94: Foreign Ministry delegation visits Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. Visiting Iranian delegation sees the Construction Jihad of Iran active in agriculture, hospital building and road building in Sudan. November 94: Foreign Minister Hussein Suleiman Abu Salih visits China; his delegation looks at textile and oil industries. 1995 1995: Government begins strategy of “peace from within”, wooing smaller rebel groups and individual dissident SPLA commanders. 6-17 July 95: Arakis’ Terry Alexander announces deal to sell 40% of Arakis to Saudi investors for $345m and a line of credit of $400m. Under the deal, Arab Group International will buy 23m newly-issued shares in Arakis at $15 per share in four tranches from July 27 to 15 September. The AGI representatives will also get three board seats, with Prince Sultan Bin Saud Abdullah al Saud becoming chairman of Arakis. Abbas Salihwill be vice chairman, Alexander will remain president and Lutfur Khan will remain president of State Petroleum. mid-1995: Maj-Gen Salah Karrar, Minister of Energy, negotiates with Russia, China, Iraq and Iran over oil development. August 95: Arakis claims to have completed the pipeline design and says construction equipment and materials are being shipped to Sudan. However, Finance Minister Abdallah Hassan Ahmed tells al-Sharq al-Awsat that the agreement between the government and Arakis is due for renewal. 7 August 95: Worries that Arakis’ financial agreement with Arab Group International (AGI) are in jeopardy cause the share price to fall 40% in two weeks from a high of $25.6 in late July to $16.5. After announcing a financing deal, Arakis shares reach a record market value of approximately $1 billion. But the deal vapourises and the company’s shares plummet, forcing out chief executive “Terry” Alexander and forcing a major restructuring of Arakis’s finances. 15 August 95: Arakis’ shares rise to over $22 amid renewed optimism. 17 August 95: Khartoum government announces Qatari interest in developing two minor former Chevron concessions. 21-22 August 95: Arakis shares drop sharply again to a new low of $10-$12. The rapid fall is prompted by Arakis’ admission that AGI would put up only $40m in cash of the anticipated $345m in equity finance, with the remainder paid in letters of credit, which might include physical assets. 24 August 95 – Arakis delists from Vancouver Stock Exchange and is suspended from trading on Nasdaq for a month. 26 September 95: Bashir in China: his delegation signs agreements on mining, oil, textiles, sugar industry and rehabilitation of Sudan railways. Preferential loan of 150m yuan (US$20m) is negotiated with Finance Minister Abdullah Hassan Ahmed, and a grant of 1m yuan obtained for “projects for poor families”. December 95: Terry Alexander leaves Arakis and is replaced by John McLeod, described as former Amoco Canada engineer who was in charge of Sudanese project from 1991. Arakis shares rise three cents to $3.62 after the news of Alexander’s departure is announced. They had peaked in July at $26.62. 1996 January 96 China votes against Sudan in the UN Security Council (it abstains on 26 April). April 1996: Government’s Supreme Council for Peace puts forward its Political Charter, a non-binding general framework for a political solution to the civil conflict. April 96: President Clinton signs the Anti-Terrorism Act, barring Americans from engaging in financial transactions with governments on the US list of terrorism sponsors, including Sudan. 26 April 1996: United Nations imposes diplomatic sanctions on Khartoum for its involvement in terrorism. In the vote, China abstains. Arakis begins production from nine wells on the Heglig field. An average of 2,000 b/d is processed and consumed domestically. Officials from China’s CNOEDC meet Arakis Energy executives, including President John McLeod in Vancouver. Arakis needs around US$750,000 for the pipeline project. It announces a big new discovery, and pays to take a score of mainly US – but also British – financiers on a junket to Sudan. June 96: Arakis / State Petroleum starts limited production of 10-20,000 b/d from Heglig, transporting crude by truck and river barge to topping plant refinery near El Obeid. 29 July 96: Government troops attack SPLA positions at Delal Ajak, west of the Nile. Lam Akol’s SPLA-United warns Arakis Energy and its British financier, Venture Guarantee Ltd to pull out immediately; says it will not allow Khartoum to ‘steal’ oil. The government aim is to secure the passage on the White Nile of barges to move crude oil from the Adar-1 field from Melut to Kosti further north. From Kosti, the oil would be sent by train to a refinery at al-Obeid. 31 July 96: Arakis chief executive John McLeod says company is taking the threats seriously. August 96: US Treasury issues regulations to block deals that would help government-backed terrorism. The “Oxy loophole” (certain business transaction exemptions theoretically enabled Occidental Petroleum to pursue an interest in Sudan). 1 August 96: Arakis statement says its 25-year agreement with the government of Sudan is still valid and that it has spent more than US$100m developing Sudan concessions. “Recruited through an agency known as Executive Outcomes, mercenaries will be employed directly by Arakis and will operate independently from the Sudanese authorities,” alleges Sudan Democratic Gazette Two renegade SPLA commanders, Riek Machar and Kerubino Kuanyin Bol, agree with regime to set up a buffer zone between SPLA forces and the government forces directly protecting the oil fields. Kuanyin moves his forces out of Gogrial town and heads towards Twic county in late August, but is ambushed by the SPLA. Splintered SPLA no longer has large numbers of forces in the Nuer territory of the Bentiu area. October 96: In Upper Nile’s Adar Yale field, private Qatari-Sudanese consortium Gulf Petroleum Company drills and reopens existing wells. October 1996: Opposition claims Arakis International is planning to employ “white mercenaries” from South Africa as a security force. Arakis’ John McLeod says the Sudan military provides protection, and the firm employs its own security and safety coordinators who work as go-betweens between company and army. He says he has never talked to Executive Outcomes. 30 October 96: Arakis / State Petroleum estimates its fields have probable and proven reserves of 600m barrels. November 96: John Garang warns that SPLA forces will attack Adar Yale oil field. November 96: Khartoum government excludes Occidental from consortium, angered by Clinton government providing aid to 3 neighbouring countries that help the SPLA/NDA forces. (US provided $20m in surplus military equipment to Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda.) 4 November 96: Arakis subsidiary State Petroleum secures framework agreement with Sudan government on developing concession near Bentiu. Negotiations start on a “modified production sharing agreement”, as it searches for other investors for $1 billion project for field development and pipeline to Port Sudan. 4 November 96: US sources say Khartoum “looking favourably on a proposal by potential investors” for a security operation mounted by Executive Outcomes. UK sources say Bashir has approved initiative and that any private force would report to and be paid by Khartoum government, said to be interested in private training for Riek Machar’s men following signing of Peace Charter. EO deny any involvement. 4 November 96: Branch Energy said to be interested in Arakis project. December 1996: Unable to finance exploration, development and pipeline alone, Arakis enters into a consortium, the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). It consists of Arakis (25% share and field operator), China National Petroleum Corporation (40%), Petronas of Malaysia (30%) and the Sudanese national oil firm Sudapet (5%). John McLeod says the Chinese partners “incorporated additional benefits to the Sudan government, which essentially got them their participation.” Partners will have to make capital expenditures on the project until they equal Arakis’ expenditure to date. 28 December 96: Three Arakis board members quit in row over compensation and are replaced. 1997 1997: Sudan government adopts “Islamic” constitution. Arakis’ Lutfur Khan appoints former Sudanese finance minister Abdel Rahim Hamdi to a committee advising the board of directors of Arakis. (Committee no longer functioning by February 1998). Arakis sells its last remaining US asset, a Kentucky natural gas property. January 97: Arakis announces third major oil find, El Nar2 (after El Toor and South Toma in 1996) . January 97: Washington Post claims US government secretly granted exemption to Occidental Petroleum interest in Sudan project, says Sudan has estimated 3.5bn bbl. Abolitionist Leadership Council calls on Congress to block Occidental involvement and says “Khartoum is building a security force… to protect [the oil project] from its rightful owners.” February 97: Riak Machar, ex-SPLA head of the South Sudan Independence Movement, officially switches sides and joins Khartoum government against SPLA. February 97: Khartoum says Eritrean and Ethiopian troops are fighting alongide the rebel forces. Sudan faces a 900 million dollar deficit. Oil imports rise to nearly US$400m/yr, representing more than 25% of the country’s total imports, while total exports reach US$600m/yr. National Democratic Alliance and SPLA forces open eastern front, seizing patches of territory between the Red Sea and the Blue Nile, threatening the Roseires hydroelectric dam near Damazin. February 1997: Sweden’s IPC / Lundin Oil signs production-sharing agreement for exploration of Block 5A, just south of Arakis’ Unity fields. Lundin later brings in Petronas of Malaysia, OMV-AG of Austria and the Sudan government’s Sudapet. 27 February 97: Arakis officially enters into Greater Nile pipeline consortium agreement. February 97: Lundin family buying Arakis stock March 1997: Bashir inaugurates production from Adar Yale field – 5,000 bl/d, under consortium led by Qatar’s Gulf Petroleum Corporation. China National Petroleum Corporation begins exploration and development on the Sharaf, Tabaldi and Abu Jabra fields (Block 6). March 97: Sands Petroleum AB (Lundin) files with SEC to say it holds 8.4% of Arakis 21 April 1997: Khartoum Peace Agreement signed between government and six splinter rebel groups – but mainstream SPLA is absent. 9 May 97:- Arakis adds Lukas Lundin of Sands Petroleum AB to its board. By mid 1997 there had been more “significant discoveries” at Toma South, El Toor and El Nar. The formation of the pipeline consortium resulted in a fourfold expansion of the exploration and development program from the 1996 level, with four drilling rigs in the concession either drilling or being rigged up to drill, and three seismic crews actively acquiring data. July 97:- Arakis appoints new pipeline manager David Hunter, who used to work for Occidental. 17 July 97: Austria’s OMV (Mineral and Oil Administration) joins a four-member consortium for oil exploration in Block 5A led by IPC (Lundin), the second consortium to begin oil exploration in Sudan this year. 30 July 97: James Taylor, then executive vice-president for international exploration of Occidental Petroleum, joins Arakis board. July 97: 1,500 km pipeline budgeted at US $1bn US to build; concession is estimated at 1bn barrels of oil 16 September 97: Ernie Pratt resigns from Arakis after operating responsibility in Sudan is transferred to Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co. 18 September 97: Lutfur Rahman Khan says government of Sudan is stable and fully able militarily and politically to hold the oil fields… 26 September 97: Kenneth C. Rutherford resigns as finance and chief financial officer to undertake private venture and is replaced by Tom G. Milne, formerly of Nova Corp. Calgary. October 1997: Arakis awards contracts for manufacture of 28″ line-pipe to China Petroleum Technology and Development Corporation (1110km) and Mannesmann Handel AG of Germany (500km) November 97: Canadian Ambassador Gabriel Lessard writes to Arakis asking them to reconsider their presence in Sudan 4 November 97: President Clinton signs executive order under the International Emergency Powers Act calling for all Sudanese assets in the US to be blocked, and imposes a ban on bank loans and all US trade with the country. Sudan cuts banking links with US banking establishments in retaliation. US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says sanctions were imposed because of Khartoum’s “continued sponsorship of international terror, efforts to destabilise neighbouring countries and abysmal record on human rights.” Sudan’s ministry of external trade says Sudanese-US trade amounts to only five per cent of Sudan’s total exchanges. Future international transfers through American banks will be averted by transacting with other international banks “in foreign currencies other than the US dollar.” Hydroelectric dams on the Nile’s second and fourth cataracts are proposed. China and Sudan sign initial financial agreement on controversial Kajbar Dam, opposed by Nubians. December 97: Opposition NDA issues official warning to users of the Khartoum-Gedaref-Kassala-Port Sudan highway that it is now a military target. 1998 1998: Arakis plan to build $750m, 28″, 1,610km pipeline still on track. 13 January 1998.: Arakis awards Argentina’s TECHINT International the contract for construction work on the Port Sudan marine terminal, pumps and SCADA, Supply contracts for the pumps and drivers are awarded toWeir Pumps Ltd of Glasgow, Scotland, and for generators to Allan Power Engineering Ltd, England. China Petroleum Engineering Construction Corporation will build the pipeline and field facilities. February 98: Two pro-government forces – under Gen Paulino Matiep Nhial and USDF leader Riek Machar – fight each other in the Bentiu area, “close to drilling operations of the China National Oil Company.” February 1998: Wau, capital of Bahr al-Ghazal, surrounded by Kerubino’s forces. Gabriel Lessard, Canada‘s ambassador to Sudan, warns that Arakis workers are in peril; Arakis admits “reduced comfort level“. February 98: First Vice-President Lt-Gen al-Zubeir Mohammad Saleh and ex-SPLA Cdr Arok Thon Arok die in plane crash near Ethiopian border. February 98: Arakis appoints Raymond P. Cej as its new president and CEO. Previously chairman and CEO of Kyrgoil Corp. of Calgary, and former senior operating officer with Shell Canada, he replaces Lutfur Rahman Khan, who was acting president and will remain as chairman. February 98: Arakis pays insurance company $3.5m to cap its exposure in US securities lawsuits and pays a $250,000 penalty to Vancouver Stock Exchange over Arab Group International (AGI) financing farrago. 2 March 98: State Petroleum writes to Sudan government assuring them the structure and management of State and Arakis will not change substantially. Sudan government issues 60-day notice of possible termination of Exploration and Production Sharing Agreement, citing March 2 letter. The notice is subsequently withdrawn. May 98: Arakis predicts commercial production of 150,000 b/d to start mid-1999 and completion by same date of 1,500-km pipeline with daily capacity of 250,000b/d May 98: Arakis says reserves on its Unity, Heglig and Kaikang concessions proven and probable are 428.9m bbl; says proven reserves of 271.3m bbl are sufficient to meet production target of 150,000 b/d subject to additional drilling. May 98: François Misser in Germany’s Die Tageszeitung writes that the GNOP consortium wants to hire 3,000 armed fighters from Iran, and an additional 600 from Malaysia. The men would allegedly be under the supervision of a South African company. “Soldier Of Fortune” magazine guesses that this could be Executive Outcomes, reported to have worked with Arakis before, although Arakis denies this. 4 May 98: Oil pipeline construction begins at eight separate locations along the route May 98: A 50,000-b/d refinery at al-Jayli begins construction with assistance from China’s CNPC. June 1998: SPLA captures Mabaan, Blue Nile province (on the road to Melut) and the town of Ulu, about 150 km SW of the strategic eastern town of Damazin and close to the installation at Adar Yale field. Violence forces aid workers to evacuate parts of Western Upper Nile Gulf Petroleum Company increases Adar-Yale production to 10,000 b/d. Sudan producing between 18,000 and 20,000 barrels of oil a day. June 98 – Arakis says its two properties in Sudan may hold about three billion bbl of oil, according to estimates made by Chevron and Shell when they were exploring the property. June 17: Arakis adds Ian H. Lundin and Fred C. Coles to board of directors July 1998-December 1998 Fighting in Leer and Mankien districts of Western Upper Nile (Block 5A) keeps WFP aid workers away for five months. 24 July 98: Take-over offer for Arakis by Canadian firm Talisman Energy (formerly BP-Canada). Agreement to the deal comes from Lundin Oil AB (newly-formed in merger between Sands Petroleum AB and IPC), which holds 10.8% of Arakis, and State Street Research (which holds 8%). 17-18 August 98: Talisman agrees to purchase Arakis Energy Corp for stock valued at US$175.7m – $200m, committing the company to $760m of capital spending on Sudan project over next 2 years. 20 August 98: US missile attack on Khartoum’s al-Shifa chemical plant – doubts raised about the completion of the Arakis purchase. 21 August 98: Talisman’s Jim Buckee, former BP planning manager, “surprised and concerned” by Shifa attack, and seeking more information. 31 August 98: Talisman announces it is advancing $22 million to Arakis to meet funding obligations. September 98: SPLA offensive produces no significant gains in the south and is successfully repulsed by government forces. Attitudes in Khartoum harden. Confident of the efficacy of military action against his enemies, Turabi threatens to put Sadiq al-Mahdi on trial. October 1998: Sharif al-Tuhami, Irrigation Minister, resigns his position. Allegations had appeared in the Arabic press that he helped his son Abdul-Rahman obtain a contract for his construction company Maban in the pipeline project. 7 October 98: Arakis shareholders, Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta, Sudan government and members of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company consortium approve sale to Talisman. Talisman completes purchase of Arakis for Ca$277m, plus advance of Ca$46.5m to meet capital requirements December 98: Talisman estimates proved plus probable reserves in Sudan concession at 150m bbl. It says the company is not prohibited by US sanctions from participating in the project and will fund all Sudan activities from non-US sources. (Talisman chart shows total yield for five fields 447m bbl, with Talisman share 113m bbl. But company also says it is assuming total of 929m bbl, with its share 232m bbl. Goes on to say mean estimate of undiscovered oil in place is 10 bn bbl, with recovery factor of at least 30%…) December 98: Talisman says project is 250-500km north of the trouble zones and is well protected. Pipeline building in South Kordofan, skirting west of Nuba Mountains: SPLA’s Ismail Khamis says government used the armed forces to pin down his forces while laying pipe around Lake Keilak. 1999 Pipeline to Port Sudan is 25% complete by mid-January, and more than 110 oil wells have been drilled. 13 January 99: Talisman planning to cut investment in North Sea and Canada to find $200m needed for Sudan project in 1999, says chief executive Jim Buckee. Total Talisman share of Sudan project costs about $430m, which Buckee says can be met with undrawn credit lines of $700m and a “commercial paper program” of about $350m. February 1999: “Terry” Alexander, former head of Arakis Energy, fined $804,000 US, including $335,000 costs, and banned from trading for 20 years. Alexander admits secret involvement in deals that profited from Arakis’s skyrocketing stock price in 1995 after a reported $750 million financing agreement for the Sudan pipeline, which later collapsed. Alexander unrepentant, saying he was in over his head. Securities Commission says Alexander controlled Arakis shares held in various offshore companies and trusts and that substantial trading profits were made by “some offshore companies”, and that shares were issued without being fully paid for by these companies. February/March 99: SPLA ambushes Red Cross vehicle near oil fields, seizing 3 local government and security officials (whom it calls “spies”) and a Red Crescent officer. All four die; government uses SPLA’s refusal to turn over the bodies to delay peace negotiations and block UN relief assessment in SPLA-held Nuba mountains. 1 March 99: Lundin Oil 1998 results include write-off of SEK156.2m of original investment in Arakis Energy. 3 March 99: Jim Buckee of Talisman says first oil exports from Sudan are “less than eight months away.” He says acquisition of Arakis required Talisman to spend $140m (excluding capitalised interest) in the last quarter of 1998, in addition to the financing provided to Arakis between the acquisition bid and close of the purchase. Release also says total exploration and development spending in Sudan was $305 million in 1998 including $156m incurred by Arakis prior to the acquisition (Talisman release) March 99: SPLA 13th battalion under Commander Malik Agar, based at Ulu, defeats a government brigade which had been besieging the town of 50,000 since 6 January. The victory brings the Adar Yale oilfield, in Khor Adar, Upper Nile, east of Melut and Malakal, into range of the SPLA’s artillery. April 1999: Completion announced of 1,610 km pipeline linking Heglig oilfield with terminal at Basha’ir Red Sea terminal Pipeline runs via oil refinery being built at al Jayli, 70 km N of Khartoum, due to become operational at the end of December 1999, which will have an annual capacity of 2.5m tonnes of crude oil. April 99: Energy and Mining Minister Dr Awad Ahmed Al-Jaz visits China and West Germany. He discusses with the Chinese ways of completing Khartoum oil refinery, and setting up an electrical power station at the refinery. 30 April 99: The government is building factories to produce tanks and missiles, “to defend ourselves against conspirators,” Turabi tells a rally in Ed Damer, and is quoted by Akhbar al-Yom as saying he will use earnings on oil exports as finance. May 99: Ministers say Sudan will be self-sufficient in oil production by mid-1999 and be able “to export crude oil for the first time ever in the second semester of 1999. Initially we hope to export 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day which would be increased to 250,000 b/d in the year 2000” – Awad al-Jaz May 99: ”Many villages on the eastern edge of Heglig were attacked and burned to the ground by the Sudanese army, causing the displacement of 1,000 to 2,000 civilians,” says UN Rapporteur. May 99: Attempt to put government militias in charge of oil installation south of Bentiu leads to open warfare among allies. Forces of Riak Machar are pushed back by Nuer warlord Paulino Matiep’s government militiamen, who now guard the area. Machar losing ground . May 99: Armed forces spokesman Lt-Gen M.O Yassin tells Radio Omdurman that the SPLA has attacked oil installations in the south and east. One attack in April was at Leer in Unity State (Block 5A, the Lundin/IPC-OMV-Petronas consortium), but Talisman say the $1.4-bn Greater Nile Oil Project was not a target and the attack was not near the consortium’s project area. end May 99: Former SPLA Cdr Tito Biel, based near Bentiu and a government ally since 1997, defects from Riak Machar’s group. Clashes continue. July 99: 1,200 government forces sweep through Ruweng County, in Western Upper Nile, killing scores of civilians, abducting hundreds and burning over 6,000 homes. In a 10-day offensive on the edge of the Heglig oilfields, Antonov bombers, helicopter gunships, tanks and artillery attacked civilians across a 100-km swathe of territory, in violation of a ceasefire signed during last year’s famine. 14 July 99: Sudan Government bans all relief flights to people living around the oil fields. August 99: Talisman Energy says that surging crude oil and natural gas prices helped it pump out a tenfold increase in profit in the second quarter. September 1999: First shipment of 600,000 barrels leaves Port Sudan. Bargaining ensues over next round of oil deals September 99: Kerubino Kuanyin is killed as Peter Gadiet and large numbers of Nuer oil zone militia members defect from government side and seek rapprochement with SPLA. September 99: Film footage of devastation at Gumriak, Ruweng county, is shown on Swedish TV. It prompts outcry against Lundin. 20 September 99: Explosion near Atbara, northern Sudan, holes the oil pipeline. Opposition NDA claims responsibility and warns of further attacks if Talisman does not talk to them. October 99: Czechs express concern that proposed second military tank consignment to Yemen may end up in Sudan. 21 October 99: Peter Gadiet’s forces, aligned with SPLA, reported bombarding Bentiu. November 99: Japanese oil traders agree deal for crude oil purchase November 99: Talisman hires Hill & Knowlton PR company, previously employed by BCCI. November 99: A trial run on the new 50,000-b/d refinery at Jayli, Khartoum, is postponed until March 2000. November 99: NIF-Umma accord signed in Djibouti. December 99:  After former prime minister Sadiq al-Mahdi breaks with the opposition NDA to resume dialogue with the regime, the NDA forms a unified command for its seven remaining armies and escalates the war in the north-east. Competing peace initiatives promoted by East African states and by Libya and Egypt fail to halt the fighting.

Chronology of South-North Sudan Peace Process (from IRIN).

1955
1955 –	Disorder breaks out in south Sudan on the eve of independence.
1956 –	Sudan becomes independent.
1958 –	General Ibrahim Abbud leads military coup against the civilian government elected earlier in the year.
1962
1962 –	Anya Nya movement assumes control of southern revolt.
1964 –	The “October Revolution” overthrows Abbud and a national government is established.
1969 –	Ja’far Numayri leads the “May Revolution” military coup.
1972
1972 –	Under the Addis Ababa peace agreement between the government and the Anya Nya the south becomes a self-governing region.
1978 –	Oil discovered in Bentiu in southern Sudan.
1983
1983 –	Numayri divides the south into three regions. Civil war breaks out again in the south involving government forces and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), lead by John Garang.Islamic law imposed.
1985 –	Numayri is deposed in a bloodless military coup by a group of military officers and a Transitional Military Council is set up to rule the country.
1986 –	Coalition government formed after general elections, with Sadiq al-Mahdi as prime minister.
1988 –	Coalition partner the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) reaches ceasefire agreement with the SPLM/A, but it is not implemented.
1989 –	Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) established. Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi accepts DUP-SPLM/A agreement. Sadiq al-Mahdi is deposed in a bloodless military coup led by Brig. (later Lt-Gen) Umar Hasan al-Bashir.
1992
1992 –	Nigerian peace conferences (Abuja I and II) held, but little progress made.
1993 –	Revolution Command Council dissolved after Umar Hasan al-Bashir is appointed president.
1994 –	IGADD start peace process and establish a Declaration of Principles (DoP).
1995 –	Egyptian President Husni Mubarak accuses Sudan of being involved in an attempt to assassinate him in Addis Ababa.
1995 –	Asmara Declaration of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) acknowledging right of south Sudan to self-determination and calling for separation of state and religion and armed struggle to overthrow the ruling National Islamic Front (NIF) regime.
1997 –	Sudanese government accepts IGAD DoP and to discuss self-determination for south Sudan. Khartoum Peace Agreement signed between the government and the South Sudan Independence Movement of Riek Machar.
1998 –	Ethio-Eritrea War breaks out reducing conflict with Sudan. USA launches cruise missile attack on a pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum, alleging that it was making materials for chemical weapons.
1999 –	President Bashir dissolves the National Assembly and declares a state of emergency following a power struggle with parliamentary speaker, Hasan al-Turabi.
1999 –	Sudan begins to export oil.
2000
2000 October –	IGAD Lake Bogoria Talks.
2001 February –	Islamist leader Hasan al-Turabi arrested a day after his party, the Popular National Congress, signed a memorandum of understanding with the southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLM/A).
2001 July –	Joint Libyan Egyptian Initiative establishes a Declaration of Principles calling for an all-party transitional government, but does not deal with the issue of self-determination for the south. Sudanese government accepts DoP without reservation and SPLM/A accepts with conditions.
2001 September –	UN Security Council lifts largely symbolic sanctions against Sudan which involved a ban on diplomatic travel. They were imposed in 1996 over accusations that Sudan harboured suspects in an attempt on the life of Egyptian President Husni Mubarak, but US continues its sanctions.
2001 October –	US President George W. Bush names Senator John Danforth as special envoy to try help end Sudanese conflict.
2001 November –	US extends unilateral sanctions against Sudan for another year, citing its record on terrorism and rights violations.
2002
2002 January –	The government and the SPLM/A sign a landmark ceasefire agreement providing for a six-month renewable ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains region of south-central Sudan.
2002 July –	After weeks of talks in Kenya, the government and the SPLM/A sign a protocol covering self-determination and state and religion and on ending the 19-year civil war. Under the agreement southern Sudan will be able to hold an independence referendum after a six-year power-sharing transition period.
2002 July –	President Umar Hasan al-Bashir and SPLM/A leader John Garang meet face to face for the first time, through the mediation of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.
2002 September –	Government breaks off talks, saying the SPLM/A seizure of the southern town of Torit had spoiled the atmosphere of talks, and that the SPLM/A had reopened the issue of the separation of state and religion by demanding that the capital of Sudan be shari’ah free.
2002 October –	The government and the SPLM/A sign a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to resume talks, and to implement a cessation of hostilities for the duration of talks. Talks resume.
2002 November –	Cessation of hostilities agreement extended until the end of March 2003. MOU signed on ‘Aspects of Structures of Government’. Talks adjourned until January 2003.
2003
2003 January –	Talks resume in Nairobi suburb of Karen. Plans also made for a separate symposium to be held dealing with the issue of the disputed border territories of southern Blue Nile, Abyei, and the Nuba Mountains.
2003 January –	UN negotiates separate bilateral agreements with the SPLM/A and the Sudanese government to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid into the disputed region of Southern Blue Nile for the first time.
2003 March –	Cessation of hostilities agreement extended until end of June 2003.
2003 March –	Semi-autonomous talks take place on the three disputed border regions of Abyei, Nuba Mountains, and Southern Blue Nile.
2003 April –	SPLM/A and government agree to the opening of corridor along the Nile River to facilitate humanitarian access.
2003 May –	Talks resume with the signing of partnership agreement in administrative arrangements for the transition period, which outlined specific measures necessary for building up the humanitarian, security and development needs of southern Sudan during the first six months of the transitional period.