Historyedit

The Nilotic people of Sudan">South Sudan—the Dinka, Anyuak, Bari, Acholi, Nuer, Shilluk, Kaligi (Arabic Feroghe), and others—first entered Sudan">South Sudan sometime before the tenth century, coinciding with the fall of medieval Nubia. From the 15th to the 19th century, tribal migrations, largely from the area of Bahr el Ghazal, brought the Anyuak, Dinka, Nuer, and Shilluk to their modern locations in Bahr El Ghazal and the Upper Nile Region, while the Acholi and Bari settled in Equatoria. The Zande, Mundu, Avukaya and Baka, who entered Sudan">South Sudan in the 16th century, established the region's largest state of Equatoria Region.

The Dinka is the largest, the Nuer the second-largest, the Zande the third-largest, and the Bari the fourth-largest of Sudan">South Sudan's ethnic groups. They are found in the Maridi, Yambio, and Tombura districts in the tropical rainforest belt of Western Equatoria, the Adio of Azande client in Yei, Central Equatoria, and Western Bahr el Ghazal. In the 18th century, the Avungara sib rose to power over the rest of Azande society, a domination that continued into the 20th century. British policies favouring Christian missionaries, such as the Closed District Ordinance of 1922 (see History of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan), and geographical barriers such as the swamplands along the White Nile curtailed the spread of Islam to the south, thus allowing the southern tribes to retain much of their social and cultural heritage, as well as their political and religious institutions.

British colonial policy in Sudan had a long history of emphasizing the development of the Arab north and largely ignoring the Black African south, which lacked schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, and other basic infrastructure. After Sudan's first independent elections in 1958, the continued neglect of the southern region by the Khartoum government led to uprisings, revolts, and the longest civil war on the continent. People affected by the violence included the Dinka, Nuer, Shilluk, Anyuak, Murle, Bari, Mundari, Baka, Balanda Bviri, Boya, Didinga, Jiye, Kakwa, Kaligi, Kuku, Lotuka, Nilotic, Toposa, and Zande.

The Azande have had good relations with their neighbours, namely the Moru, Mundu, Pöjulu, Avukaya, Baka, and the small groups in Bahr el Ghazal, due to the expansionist policy of their king Gbudwe, in the 18th century. In the 19th century, the Azande fought the French, the Belgians and the Mahdists to maintain their independence. Ottoman Egypt, under the rule of Khedive Ismail Pasha, first attempted to control the region in the 1870s, establishing the province of Equatoria in the southern portion. Egypt's first appointed governor was Samuel Baker, commissioned in 1869, followed by Charles George Gordon in 1874, and by Emin Pasha in 1878.

The Mahdist Revolt of the 1880s destabilized the nascent province, and Equatoria ceased to exist as an Egyptian outpost in 1889. Important settlements in Equatoria included Lado, Gondokoro, Dufile, and Wadelai. European colonial manoeuvrings in the region came to a head in 1898, when the Fashoda Incident occurred at present-day Kodok; Britain and France almost went to war over the region. Britain then treated Sudan">South Sudan as a distinct entity with a different stage of development than the North. This policy was legalized in 1930 by the announcement of the Southern Policy. In 1946, without consulting Southern opinion, the British administration reversed its Southern Policy and began instead to implement a policy of uniting the North and the South.

The region has been negatively affected by two civil wars since Sudanese independence: from 1955 to 1972, the Sudanese government fought the Anyanya rebel army (Anya-Nya is a term in the Madi language which means "snake venom") during the First Sudanese Civil War, followed by the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) in the Second Sudanese Civil War for over twenty years, from 1983 to 2005. As a result, the country suffered serious neglect, a lack of infrastructure development, and major destruction and displacement. More than 2.5 million people have been killed, and millions more have become refugees both within and outside the country.

Sudan">South Sudan has an estimated population of 11 million people in 2023 but, given the lack of a census in several decades, this estimate may be severely distorted. The economy is predominantly rural and relies chiefly on subsistence farming. Around 2005, the economy began a transition from this rural dominance, and urban areas within Sudan">South Sudan have seen extensive development.

Independence (2011)edit

Between 9 and 15 January 2011, as a consequence of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the South Sudanese independence referendum was held to determine whether Sudan">South Sudan should become an independent country, separate from Sudan. Following that, 98.83% of those who took part in the referendum voted for separation or independence. And on 23 January 2011, members of a steering committee on post-independence governing told reporters that upon independence the land would be named the Republic of Sudan">South Sudan "out of familiarity and convenience". Other names that had been considered were Azania, Nile Republic, Kush Republic and even Juwama, a portmanteau for Juba, Wau and Malakal, three major cities. Sudan">South Sudan formally became independent from Sudan on 9 July, although certain disputes still remained, including the division of oil revenues, as 75% of all the former Sudan's oil reserves are in Sudan">South Sudan. The region of Abyei still remains disputed and a separate referendum will be held in Abyei on whether they want to join Sudan or Sudan">South Sudan. The South Kordofan conflict broke out in June 2011 between the Army of Sudan and the SPLA over the Nuba Mountains.

On 9 July 2011, Sudan">South Sudan became the 54th independent country in Africa (9 July is now celebrated as Independence Day, a national holiday) and since 14 July 2011, Sudan">South Sudan is the 193rd member of the United Nations. On 27 July 2011, Sudan">South Sudan became the 54th country to join the African Union. In September 2011, Google Maps recognized Sudan">South Sudan as an independent country, after a massive crowdsourcing mapping initiative was launched.

In 2011 it was reported that Sudan">South Sudan was at war with at least seven armed groups in 9 of its 10 states, with tens of thousands displaced. The fighters accuse the government of plotting to stay in power indefinitely, not fairly representing and supporting all tribal groups while neglecting development in rural areas. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) also operates in a wide area that includes Sudan">South Sudan.

Inter-ethnic warfare in some cases predates the war of independence and is widespread. In December 2011, tribal clashes intensified between the Nuer White Army of the Lou Nuer and the Murle. The White Army warned it would wipe out the Murle and would also fight South Sudanese and UN forces sent to the area around Pibor.

In March 2012, South Sudanese forces seized the Heglig oil fields in lands claimed by both Sudan and Sudan">South Sudan in the province of South Kordofan after conflict with Sudanese forces in the South Sudanese state of Unity. Sudan">South Sudan withdrew on 20 March, and the Sudanese Army entered Heglig two days later.

Civil War (2013–2020)edit

On the 5th of September 2013, an article written by analyst Duop Chak Wuol was published by the US-based Sudan">South Sudan News Agency (SSNA). The writer raised critical questions surrounding what he described as the rise of autocracy within the top leadership of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and warned of monumental repercussions unless the ruling elites restored the founding principles of the party. Duop also berated the ruling party, arguing that the party has replaced its founding principles with "forgotten promises and deceptions." In December 2013, a political power struggle broke out between President Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar, as the president accused Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'état. Fighting broke out, igniting the South Sudanese Civil War. Ugandan troops were deployed to fight alongside South Sudanese government forces against the rebels. The United Nations has peacekeepers in the country as part of the United Nations Mission in Sudan">South Sudan (UNMISS). Numerous ceasefires were mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and SPLM – in opposition and were subsequently broken. A peace agreement was signed in Ethiopia under threat of United Nations sanctions for both sides in August 2015. Machar returned to Juba in 2016 and was appointed vice president. Following a second breakout of violence in Juba, Machar was replaced as vice-president and he fled the country as the conflict erupted again. Rebel in-fighting has become a major part of the conflict. Rivalry among Dinka factions led by the President and Malong Awan has also led to fighting. In August 2018, another power-sharing agreement came into effect.

About 400,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the war, including notable atrocities such as the 2014 Bentiu massacre. Although both men have supporters from across Sudan">South Sudan's ethnic divides, subsequent fighting has been communal, with rebels targeting members of Kiir's Dinka ethnic group and government soldiers attacking Nuers. More than 4 million people have been displaced, with about 1.8 million of those internally displaced, and about 2.5 million having fled to neighbouring countries, especially Uganda and Sudan.

On 20 February 2020, Salva Kiir Mayardit and Riek Machar agreed to a peace deal, and on 22 February 2020 formed a national unity government as Machar was sworn in as the First Vice President of the country.

Despite the official cessation of the civil war, violence between armed militia groups at the community level has continued in the country; according to Yasmin Sooka, Chair of the Commission of Human Rights in Sudan, the level of violence "far exceeds the violence between 2013 and 2019".

Admission into the EAC and planned Democratic elections (2016–)edit

Sudan">South Sudan acceded to the Treaty of the East Africa Community on 15 April 2016 and became a full member on 15 August 2016. Sudan">South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and Federal Republic of Somalia are the newest members of the East African Community.

The first democratic elections in Sudan">South Sudan since the start of the civil war were scheduled for 2023 by the peace agreement that ended the war officially, but the transitional government and opposition agreed in 2022 to move them to late 2024 instead.

2017 famineedit

On 20 February 2017, Sudan">South Sudan and the United Nations declared a famine in parts of former Unity State, with the warning that it could spread rapidly without further action. Over 100,000 people were affected. The UN World Food Programme said that 40% of the population of Sudan">South Sudan, 4.9 million people, need food urgently. U.N. officials said that President Salva Kiir Mayardit was blocking food deliveries to some areas. Furthermore, UNICEF warned that more than 1 million children in Sudan">South Sudan were subjected to malnutrition.

An outbreak of fall armyworm further threatened sorghum and maize production by July 2017.