The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), also called Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), is the military force of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key participant of the Second Sudanese Civil War and the subsequent independence of South Sudan. It was led by John Garang, who died in 2005 and was succeeded by Salva Kiir. As of 2010, the SPLA was divided into divisions of 10,000–14,000 soldiers.
Following the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005, the last remaining large and well-equipped militia, the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF), under General Paulino Matiep, signed an agreement with Kiir known as the Juba Declaration, which amalgamated the two forces under the SPLA banner.
Following South Sudan's independence in 2011, Kiir became President and the SPLA became the new republic's regular army. In May 2017 there was a restructure and the SPLA took on the name of South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF), with another change in September 2018 to South Sudan People's Defence Forces. , the army was estimated to have 185,000 soldiers as well as an unknown number of personnel in the small South Sudan Air Force. , the SSPDF comprised the Ground Force, Air Force, Air Defence Forces and Presidential Guard.
History 1983: Inception On 16 May 1983 105 Battalion launched a mutiny in Malual-Chaat barrack, Bor against the Sudanese army which later inspired a number of mutinies in the southern region including those at Ayod, Pochalla, and Pibor. These mutinies led to the creation of the SPLA later that year.
At its inception John Garang was the SPLA's Commander-in-Chief. Kerubino Kuanyin Bol was appointed second ranking Commander, and William Nyuon Bany third. By June 1983, the majority of mutineers had moved to Ethiopia or were on their way there. The Ethiopian government's decision to support the emerging SPLA was a means of exacting revenge upon the Sudanese government for its support of Eritrean rebels.
The SPLA struggled for a united and secular Sudanese state. Garang said the struggle of the South Sudanese was the same as that of marginalised groups in the north, such as the Nuba and Fur peoples.Africa Watch Committee. Denying the Honor of Living: Sudan, a Human Rights Disaster : an Africa Watch Report . New York, N.Y.: Africa Watch Committee, 1990. pp. 18–19 Until 1985, the SPLA directed its public denouncements of the Sudanese government specifically at Sudanese President, Gaafar Nimeiry. During the years that followed, SPLA propaganda denounced the Khartoum government as a family affair that played on sectarian tensions. The SPLA denounced the introduction of Sharia law in September 1983.Africa Watch Committee. Denying the Honor of Living: Sudan, a Human Rights Disaster : an Africa Watch Report . New York, N.Y.: Africa Watch Committee, 1990. p. 23
War in the 1980s
The first fully-fledged SPLA battalion graduated in 1984 in the village of Bilpam. The name 'Bilpam' carried great symbolic importance for SPLA for years to come, as the epicentre of the uprising. After Bilpam, other SPLA training camps were established at Dimma, Bonga and Panyido.
In the mid-1980s the SPLA armed struggle blocked development projects of the Sudanese government, such as the Bentiu Oil Fields.Africa Watch Committee. Denying the Honor of Living: Sudan, a Human Rights Disaster : an Africa Watch Report . New York, N.Y.: Africa Watch Committee, 1990. p. 65
The SPLA launched its first advance into Equatoria in 1985 and 1986. During this campaign, the SPLA were confronted by a number of pro-government militias. The conduct of SPLA forces was chaotic, with many atrocities against the civilian population. The SPLA drove out around 35,000 Ugandan refugees (who had settled in Equatoria since the early 1980s) back into Uganda.
The SPLA had a complicated relationship with the Anyanya II, a fellow southern Sudanese rebel group. The Anyanya II forces blocked the expansion of the SPLA between 1984 and 1987, as Anyanya II attacked SPLA recruits heading for Ethiopia. The Anyanya II also attacked civilians believed to be SPLA supporters. The conflict between Anyanya II and SPLA had a political dimension, as Anyanya II sought to build an independent southern Sudanese state. The SPLA tried to win over the leaders of Anyanya II. The Anyanya II commander Gordon Kong Chuol aligned with The SPLA in late 1987. Other sectors of the Anyanya II followed his example over the ensuing years, marginalizing the remainder of the Anyanya II who were allied with the Sudanese government.
Another force that confronted SPLA were the Murahaleen militias in northern Bahr el-Ghazal. Warfare between SPLA and Murahaleen began in 1987. By 1988 SPLA controlled most of the northern Bahr el-Ghazal.Africa Watch Committee. Denying the Honor of Living: Sudan, a Human Rights Disaster : an Africa Watch Report . New York, N.Y.: Africa Watch Committee, 1990. pp. 153–155 Unlike the Anyanya II, the Murahaleen had no political ambitions.
In March 1986, the SPLA kidnapped a Norwegian aid worker of the Christian NGO Kirkens Nødhjelp (Norwegian Church Aid).Norsk Bistandshistorie (Norwegian aid history), Randi Rønning Balsvik, 2016. p. 115 https://www.idunn.no/ht/2017/02/randi_roenning_balsvik_norsk_bistandshistorie Moorcroft writes that by this time, 'training, weapons, and discipline improved as the guerillas won more and more victories. In November 1987 the guerillas captured the small town of Kurmak near the Ethiopian border. It was 450 miles from the capital, but the nearby dam provided most of Khartoum's electricity.'Moorcroft, 'Omar al-Bashir and Africa's Longest War,' 2015, 72.
Political openings The SPLA boycotted the 1986 Sudanese parliamentary election. In half of the constituencies of southern Sudan elections could not be held due to the SPLA boycott.Africa Watch Committee. Denying the Honor of Living: Sudan, a Human Rights Disaster : an Africa Watch Report . New York, N.Y.: Africa Watch Committee, 1990. p. 22
On 15 November 1988, the SPLA entered into an alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The two groups agreed on the lifting of the state of emergency and abolition of Sharia law. The press release was made public through an announcement on Radio SPLA. After the DUP rejoined the government, a ceasefire with the SPLA was achieved.Africa Watch Committee. Denying the Honor of Living: Sudan, a Human Rights Disaster: an Africa Watch Report . New York, N.Y.: Africa Watch Committee, 1990. p. 53 After the elections, negotiations between the SPLA and Sadiq al-Mahdi started, but were aborted after the SPLA shot down a civilian airplane, killing 60 people.
All peace talks ended following the 1989 Sudanese coup d'état.Guarak, Mawut Achiecque Mach. Integration and Fragmentation of the Sudan: An African Renaissance. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2011. p. 128 In September 1989, the ruling Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation (RCC) invited different sectors to a 'National Dialogue Conference', but the SPLA refused to attend.Africa Watch Committee. Denying the Honor of Living: Sudan, a Human Rights Disaster : an Africa Watch Report . New York, N.Y.: Africa Watch Committee, 1990. p. 25
The SPLA launched a major offensive between 1989 and the fall of the Ethiopian Derg government in 1991. It captured various towns, such as Bor, Waat, Maridi, Mundri, Yambio, Kaya, Kajo Keji, Nimule, Kapoeta, Torit, Akobo and Nasir. By the middle of 1991, the SPLA controlled most parts of southern Sudan with the exception of the major garrison towns (Juba, Yei, Malakal and Wau) Between 21 and 29 January 1990, SPLA shelled Juba. SPLA forces also moved into the Nuba Mountains and the southern parts of the Blue Nile State. In comparison with its 1985–1986 offensive in Equatoria, the conduct of SPLA was now more orderly.
1991: Setback and split
The downfall of the Derg government in Ethiopia in May 1991 proved to be a major setback. The Ethiopian government had provided the SPLA with military supplies, training facilities and a safe haven for bases for 18 years. Soon after the change of government in Ethiopia, the SPLA accompanied hundreds of thousands of refugees back into Sudan.
A split in the SPLA had simmered since late 1990, as Lam Akol and Riek Machar began to question Garang's leadership. Akol began secretly contacting SPLA officers to join his side, especially among the Nuer and Shilluk peoples. The situation deteriorated after the fall of the Derg. As the Derg regime crumbled, Akol published a document titled Why Garang Must Go Now.Guarak, Mawut Achiecque Mach. Integration and Fragmentation of the Sudan: An African Renaissance. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2011. p. 208 The split was made public on 28 August 1991, in what became known as the Nasir Declaration. The dissidents called for democratization of SPLA, a stop to human rights abuses, and an independent southern Sudan (Garang's goal of creating a united and secular Sudan). Kong Coul joined the rebellion. The 'SPLA-Nasir' was joined by the SPLA forces in Ayod, Waat, Adok, Abwong, Ler and Akobo. A period of chaos reigned inside the SPLA, as it was not clear which units sided with Garang and which with the SPLA-Nasir.
Garang issued a statement through the SPLA radio communications system, denouncing the coup. Nine out of eleven (excluding himself) SPLA PMHC members sided with Garang.Guarak, Mawut Achiecque Mach. Integration and Fragmentation of the Sudan: An African Renaissance. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2011. p. 210 The mainstream SPLA led by Garang was based in Torit. The two SPLA factions fought each other, including attacks on civilians in their opponents' territory.
Battles of 1992 As of 1992 the Sudanese government launched a major offensive against the SPLA, which was weakened by the split with the SPLA-Nasir. The SPLA lost control of Torit (where the SPLA was headquartered), Bor, Yirol, Pibor, Pochalla and Kapoeta.
The SPLA made two attacks on Juba in June–July 1992, during which they nearly captured the town. After the attacks, the Sudanese government forces committed harsh reprisals against the civilian population. Summary executions of suspected SPLA collaborators were carried out. On 27 September 1992 the deputy commander-in-chief of the SPLA, William Nyuon, defected and took a section of fighters with him.Guarak, Mawut Achiecque Mach. Integration and Fragmentation of the Sudan: An African Renaissance. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2011. p. 220 The SPLA recaptured Bor on 29 November 1991.
Mid-1990s As of the mid-1990s, the majority of the population of southern Sudan lived in areas under the control of either the mainstream SPLA or the SPLA-Nasir.
2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement In 2004, a year before the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the Coalition to Stop Child Soldiers, estimated that there were between 2,500 and 5,000 children serving in the SPLA.
Following the signing of the CPA, an SPLA reorganisation process began. This process was actively supported by funding from the United States. In 2005, Garang restructured the top leadership of the SPLA, with a Chief of General Staff, Lt. Gen. Oyay Deng Ajak, and four Deputy Chiefs of General Staff: Maj. Gen. Salva Mathok Gengdit (Administration), Maj. Gen. Bior Ajang Aswad (Operations), Maj. Gen. James Hoth Mai (Logistics) and Maj. Gen. Obuto Mamur Mete (Political and Moral Orientation).