Timeline South Sudan
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1955
A rebellion first began in the south, the year
before Sudan gained independence after joint British-Egyptian
control. Fighting lasted until a 1972 peace agreement, which failed
to resolve the fundamental issues. Fighting resumed in the early
1980s and about 2 million people died over the next two decades. The
2005 peace agreement granted the south autonomy for six years, at
the end of which a referendum on independence was to be held. Rebels
in the western region of Darfur and in the northeast also have
rebelled against the Khartoum-based government, accusing it of
concentrating wealth in the hands of a politically privileged
Islamist elite and ignoring development in outlying regions. U.N.
officials say up to 300,000 people have died in Darfur since 2003
and 2.7 million have been forced from their homes because of the
conflict.
(AP, 1/9/11)
2006 Dave Eggers authored “What
Is the What: The Autobiography of Achak Deng.” Deng, a Sudanese
“lost boy,” managed to escape to Ethiopia and work his way to Kenya
and ultimately America in 2001. Eggers’ novel is based on interviews
with Deng. In 2010 Deng returned to his home in Marial Bai, South
Sudan.
(SSFC, 12/24/06, p.M1)(Econ, 2/5/11, p.58)
2011 Jan 9, In Sudan millions
of jubilant south Sudanese started voting in an independence
referendum expected to see their war-ravaged region emerge as
Africa’s 54th sovereign state. Khartoum's government was expected to
lose a third of its land, nearly a quarter of its population and
much of its main moneymaker, oil. Armed Arab nomads clashed with
tribespeople in the disputed Abyei region for the third day leaving
20 people dead. At least 36 people were reported dead in clashes
over the last three days between tribespeople and Arab nomads near
Sudan's north- south border.
(Reuters, 1/9/11)(Reuters, 1/9/11)(AP,
1/10/11)(Econ, 1/8/11, p.11)
2011 Jan 10, Thousands of south
Sudanese poured out to vote for a second straight day in a landmark
independence referendum, bringing the region a step closer to
becoming the world's newest state. Former US President Jimmy Carter
told CNN that Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir offered to
take on all of the country's crippling debt if the south declares
independence after a referendum.
(AFP, 1/10/11)(Reuters, 1/10/11)
2011 Jan 13, South Sudan's
independence vote cleared two major hurdles after former president
Jimmy Carter gave the poll his endorsement and organizers said high
turnout meant the result would be binding. Former US president Jimmy
Carter said that Khartoum wants all of Sudan's $39-billion debt
forgiven, saying he had erred in earlier saying it was ready to
assume the south's share.
(Reuters, 1/13/11)(AFP, 1/13/11)
2011 Jan 15, In South Sudan
voters began celebrating after the end of a weeklong independence
referendum.
(AP, 1/15/11)
2011 Jan 16, Southern Sudan's
Pres. Salva Kiir offered a prayer of forgiveness for northern Sudan
and the killings that occurred during a two-decade civil war, as the
first results from a weeklong independence referendum showed an
overwhelming vote for secession.
(AP, 1/16/11)
2011 Jan 18, South Sudan
appealed for investors to plough $140 million into its war-hit
wildlife parks, seeking to kick-start a tourism industry and wean
itself off oil months ahead of its expected independence.
(Reuters, 1/18/11)
2011 Jan 23, South Sudan’s
referendum commission's website said provisional results from the
referendum showed that almost 99 percent of voters have chosen
independence, after 98.7 percent of the votes had been counted.
Turnout exceeded 100 percent in several areas, and a top election
official said that some results were being quarantined.
(AP, 1/23/11)
2011 Jan 30, Sudan’s government
welcomed the preliminary results of the southern Sudan referendum
but said there was a "huge amount" to do before it becomes an
independent nation. Southern Sudan's referendum commission said
close to 99 percent of south Sudanese chose to secede from the north
in the landmark January 9-15 referendum.
(AFP, 1/30/11)
2011 Feb 4, In Sudan two days
of fighting in Malakal, a flashpoint town near the north-south
border, has killed nine people, including a UN staff member.
(AP, 2/4/11)
2011 Feb 5, In South Sudan a
rebellion by former pro-Khartoum militiamen against giving up their
heavy weapons sparked clashes in oil-producing Upper Nile state.
Fighting in Malakal close to the border with the north, has killed
20 people and wounded at least 24. Soldiers in north Sudan's army
fought each other, killing at least 30 in a dispute over who gets to
keep the artillery they are holding in Southern Sudan. The fighting
took place in two towns in Upper Nile state. 11 soldiers were killed
in Paloich and 19 in Melut.
(AP, 2/5/11)(AP, 2/6/11)
2011 Feb 7, Sudan's Pres. Omar
al-Bashir accepted a southern vote for independence in a referendum
that is set to create Africa's newest state and open up a fresh
period of uncertainty in the increasingly volatile region. The final
results of the historic independence referendum showed that 98.83
percent had voted for secession.
(Reuters, 2/7/11)(AFP, 2/8/11)
2011 Feb 9, A south Sudanese
minister, Jimmy Lemi Milla, and his bodyguard were shot dead in Juba
in a revenge killing by the minister's brother-in-law. At least 16
people died when rebels attacked troops in troubled Jonglei state,
breaking a ceasefire signed last month.
(AFP, 2/9/11)(AFP, 2/10/11)
2011 Feb 10, The fighting in
Southern Sudan between the region's army and a rebel faction left
105 people dead, including 39 civilians, 24 southern soldiers and
police officers and 42 rebels. Rebel commander George Athor's troops
captured Fangak a day earlier, and the fighting continued today
until the southern military retook it. Rebel troops attacked the
town of Phom el-Zeraf over two days. Women and children ran for
their lives — straight into a river, where many drowned or were shot
to death. Some 240 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
(AP, 2/11/11)(SFC, 2/12/11, p.A3)(AP,
3/11/11)(http://tinyurl.com/4bsgaep)
2011 Feb 12, In Sudan hundreds
of civilians sought refuge at a UN compound in the contested town of
Abyei following a spate of violence that killed three people from
north Sudan.
(AP, 2/14/11)
2011 Feb 15, A senior South
Sudan official said more than 200 people died in a rebel attack in
south Sudan's troubled Jonglei state last week, nearly double an
earlier death toll. Some 20,000 people were displaced by the
fighting.
(AFP, 2/15/11)(AFP, 2/17/11)
2011 Feb 16, In South Sudan a
one-day meeting began in Juba between leaders of all the south’s
parties, the start of a consultation process to draw up a
constitution for the new nation. South Sudan's ruling party accused
northern authorities of arming rebels since the region's landmark
independence vote last month, including renegade troops behind
clashes that killed more than 200 people last week.
(AFP, 2/16/11)
2011 Feb 27, In Sudan at least
10 people died when a militia attacked a police post in the disputed
area of Abyei. The fertile area is claimed by both north and south
Sudan and is near several large oil fields.
(AP, 2/28/11)
2011 Mar 1, In Sudan fresh
clashes broke out in the Abyei region between gunmen from the
northern-supported nomadic Arab Misseriya people and local the Ngok
Dinka tribe, who backed the south.
(AP, 3/2/11)(Econ, 5/28/11, p.54)
2011 Mar 2, In Sudan at least
70 people were killed and two villages razed in two days of fighting
in the flashpoint oil-producing border district of Abyei.
(AFP, 3/2/11)
2011 Mar 6, In South Sudan
clashes began between government soldiers and a rebel group in the
village of Owachi. More than 60 people, mostly civilians, were
killed over 2 days. More than 7,000 others were displaced. Soldiers
from Southern Sudan's government fired indiscriminately at civilians
and burned and looted homes in Upper Nile state, near the
north-south border.
(AP, 4/20/11)
2011 Mar 12, South Sudan's
ruling party said it has suspended talks with Khartoum after
uncovering a plot overseen by President Omar al-Bashir to topple it
ahead of southern independence in July. Renegotiating a revenue
sharing formula was one of the various issued that Juba and Khartoum
were trying to resolve ahead of July. A pre-dawn rebel attack on the
capital of south Sudan's oil-rich Upper Nile state killed 11 people,
with the army battling to regain control of Malakal. The rebel group
that launched the attack was commanded by a man called Ulony, whose
men fought with the SPLA in Owach, west of Malakal, earlier this
week.
(AFP, 3/12/11)
2011 Mar 13, A top Southern
Sudanese official said Southern Sudan is suspending talks and
diplomatic contact with northern Sudan over claims that the northern
government is funding militias in the south.
(AP, 3/13/11)
2011 Mar 17, South Sudan's army
fought heavy battles with militia in the oil-producing Unity state.
At least 59 soldiers and militiamen were killed and dozens wounded
in clashes between the South Sudan army and local militia groups in
three oil-producing states.
(Reuters, 3/17/11)(Reuters, 3/18/11)
2011 Mar 23, South Sudan's army
(SPLA) accused the north of bombing its territory, violating a 2005
peace deal ahead of the oil-producing region's independence.
(Reuters, 3/23/11)
2011 Apr 5, In South Sudan 13
people died in tribal violence. The governor of Western Equatoria,
Joseph Bangasi Bakosoro, later said gunmen attacked his village
while authorities from the two states were meeting to find ways of
ending hostilities between the communities.
(AP, 4/7/11)
2011 Apr 7, Northern Sudanese
Armed Forces have deployed two Mi-24 helicopter gunships and at
least nine T-55 tanks about 60 miles (100 km) from Abyei's border
according to the US-based Satellite Sentinel Project.
(AP, 4/7/11)
2011 Apr 13, The UN said that
more than 800 people have been killed and 94,000 displaced because
of violence in Southern Sudan this year. A top official warned of a
humanitarian crisis if the violence continues. A militia aligned
with the northern government reportedly attacked el-Feid and the
nearby village of Um Barmbita in the Nuba Mountains of southern
Kordofan state. Attackers burned between 300 to 500 houses and
reportedly killed more than 20 people, including women and children.
(AP, 4/13/11)(AP, 4/20/11)
2011 Apr 21, Rebels in south
Sudan's oil-rich Unity state continued for a third day to attack
southern army positions.
(AP, 4/21/11)
2011 Apr 23, In South Sudan
clashes broke out in the Canal area of northern Jonglei state as
thousands of civilians fled fighting between rebels and south
Sudan's army in oil-producing Unity state. In northern Jonglei state
57 gunmen led by Gabriel Tang were killed in a shoot-out with SPLA
troops, before fleeing into the surrounding bush,
(AP, 4/23/11)(AFP, 4/24/11)(AFP, 4/25/11)
2011 Apr 24, South Sudan’s
Brig. Malaak Ayuen, the head of the Southern Sudan's Army
Information Department, said at least 115 people have died in
violence between government forces and a rebel militia in Southern
Sudan this week. Militia chief Gabriel Tang and around 1,300 of his
men surrendered peacefully.
(AP, 4/24/11)(AP, 4/25/11)
2011 Apr 25, South Sudan’s army
said at least 165 people have been killed in the past week in
fighting between its army and militia. The UN said more than 800
civilians have been killed since January.
(AP, 4/25/11)(SFC, 4/26/11, p.A2)
2011 Apr 28, Sudan’s President
Omar al-Bashir warned that Khartoum will not recognize the new state
of south Sudan when it declares independence in July if it insists
on claiming the disputed Abyei region.
(AFP, 4/28/11)
2011 May 1, In Sudan tribal
clashes over a land dispute in the oil-producing state of South
Kordofan left at least 15 people dead. A heavily armed Sudanese
military convoy entered the flashpoint border district of Abyei,
sparking clashes that left up to 14 people dead. Neither the
northern or southern armies are authorized to maintain troops in the
disputed Abyei area.
(AFP, 5/2/11)(AFP, 5/3/11)(AP, 5/4/11)
2011 May 7, In South Sudan
militiamen, under the leadership of Philip Bepan, attacked the
southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in Unity state. They
were chased away and went to Warrap state, where they attacked
cattle camps the next day.
(AFP, 5/10/11)
2011 May 8, North and south
Sudan agreed to start withdrawing unauthorized troops from the
flashpoint Abyei border region, a week after clashes there left 14
people dead. The pullout would begin May 10 and be completed within
a week.
(AFP, 5/9/11)
2011 May 8, In Southern Sudan
rebels attacked cattle herders. 38 militia were killed in the
village of Nadiet. SPLA spokesman Philip Aguer said 34 of those
killed were civilians.
(AP, 5/10/11)(AP, 5/12/11)
2011 May 9, In Southern Sudan
46 militia were killed in fighting in Kuei Koi. Most of the
dead killed over the last 2 days were rebels loyal to Peter Gadet, a
formerly high-ranking army officer who launched his own rebel group.
(AP, 5/11/11)(AP, 5/12/11)
2011 May 10, In South Sudan 4
UN peacekeepers from Zambia were shot and wounded while on patrol in
Abyei.
(SFC, 5/11/11, p.A2)
2011 May 15, Sudan said the
northern ruling party won an election for governor in South
Kordofan, the north's main oil state, after a vote the south said
was rigged, creating a fresh flashpoint before the south secedes in
July.
(Reuters, 5/15/11)
2011 May 19, In Sudan a UN
convoy transporting 200 northern army troops was attacked as they
were pulling out of the contested region of Abyei along the
north-south border. Sudan's army spokesman said northern troops were
ambushed by the southern army and suffered "huge losses." A
spokesman for the south's Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army (SPLA) said
the northern forces provoked the fighting in at attempt to seize the
disputed area. 70 northern troops were killed and more than 120
others were missing.
(AP, 5/20/11)(AP, 5/24/11)
2011 May 21, Southern Sudan's
army said the northern army is bombing by air for a second day in
the border hotspot of Abyei. Local officials said at least six
rebels and soldiers have been killed in clashes between the southern
army and rebels over the last 24 hours in Unity state. Northern
Sudanese forces with tanks occupied the disputed town of Abyei,
scattering southern troops that were there as part of a joint
security unit.
(AP, 5/21/11)(AP, 5/22/11)
2011 May 22, Northern Sudanese
troops seized control of most of Abyei district on Sudan's
north-south border as the south accused Khartoum of an "illegal
invasion" that threatens the lives of thousands.
(AFP, 5/22/11)
2011 May 23, In Sudan armed men
burned and looted the flashpoint town of Abyei. Southern Sudan's
military said the northern army is moving to carry out a "full-scale
war" in the contested region. Angry Sudanese rallied in the southern
capital of Juba, demanding northern forces end their "invasion" of
the contested Abyei region.
(AP, 5/23/11)(AFP, 5/23/11)
2011 May 24, In Sudan gunmen
from an Arab tribe fired on four UN helicopters taking off from
Abyei a disputed border town at the heart of a new north-south
conflict.
(AP, 5/25/11)
2011 May 25, Sudan's president
gave northern troops a "green light" to attack southern forces if
provoked. President Barack Obama, speaking at a news conference in
London, called for the rapid reinforcement of UN peacekeeping troops
in the Abyei region, from which tens of thousands of civilians have
fled over the last week.
(AP, 5/25/11)
2011 May 26, South Sudan's
President Salva Kiir called on north Sudan to withdraw its forces
from the disputed Abyei region. He also said there would be no war
over the incursion and it would not derail independence.
(Reuters, 5/26/11)
2011 May 28, South Sudan's vice
president flew to Khartoum on a mission to "ease tensions" over
Abyei, one week after northern troops overran the contested border
region.
(AFP, 5/28/11)
2011 May 28, Sudan’s Suna news
agency said Khartoum has ordered the official termination of the
UN's north-south peacekeeping mission on July 9, the date the south
is to declare full independence following a referendum.
(AFP, 5/29/11)
2011 May 29, In South Sudan a
week of fighting subsided near water points in Jonglei state with at
least 68 people killed. Nuer tribesmen allegedly attacked the area
and drove off with more than 100,000 cattle owned by the Murle.
(AP, 5/2/11)
2011 May 29, Advocacy group
Satellite Sentinel Project said new satellite images provide
evidence that northern Sudanese troops have committed war crimes,
including ethnic cleansing, in the contested border town of Abyei
where forces rolled in on May 21. Save the Children's U.K. office
said the conflict has displaced up to 35,000 children in the Abyei
region.
(AP, 5/29/11)
2011 May 31, The African Union
said representatives from north and south Sudan have agreed to set
up a demilitarized zone along their shared border, ten days after
the north seized the disputed Abyei region.
(Reuters, 5/31/11)
2011 Jun 3, The UN Security
Council demanded that Sudan withdraw troops from Abyei and stop
looting and attacks in the region disputed with rival southern
Sudan.
(AP, 6/4/11)
2011 Jun 9, In Sudan fighting
resumed for a 5th day along the north-south order.
(SFC, 6/10/11, p.A2)
2011 Jun 16, The Sudanese army
said it will continue to fight by all available means to stop the
rebellion in South Kordofan, as concern grew over the humanitarian
impact of the conflict. Aid workers and a UN report said fighting
has erupted along a new front near the internal border between north
and south Sudan with dozens of people reported killed.
(AFP, 6/16/11)(AP, 6/16/11)
2011 Jun 17, The army of north
Sudan shelled a town just south of the flashpoint Abyei border
region, with tensions rising along the frontier just weeks before
southern independence. Satellite images showed northern Sudanese
military vehicles including heavy transports and artillery massing
in the capital of the conflict-stricken Southern Kordofan state.
(AFP, 6/17/11)(Reuters, 6/19/11)
2011 Jun 20, Rival north and
south Sudan signed a deal to demilitarize their disputed frontier
region of Abyei and let in an Ethiopian peacekeeping force.
(AP, 6/21/11)
2011 Jun 23, An internal UN
security report said agents from Sudan’s National Security Service
had donned Red Crescent aprons at a camp in Kadugli, Southern
Kordofan, and ordered internally displaced persons to leave a
UN-protected camp.
(AP, 6/23/11)
2011 South Sudan’s population
was estimated at 8-14 million.
(Econ, 2/5/11, p.57)
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