Almost a decade after the signing of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) there is a need for an independent review of its implementation that takes into account the viewpoints of all stakeholders involved in or affected by the agreement. Development Deferred: Eastern Sudan after the ESPA investigates and analyses the implementation of the ESPA in an attempt to answer key questions: what role has the GoS played in implementing the agreement?

Two Fronts, One War: Evolution of the Two Areas Conflict, 2014–15 analyses the last two years of conflict in the Two Areas, based on fieldwork in late 2014 and early 2015, and significant additional communications and interviews in 2015. It examines the major conflict dynamics during the last dry season of fighting (late 2013–mid-2014) and describes the primary armed actors and their positions to shed light on the major conflict dynamics of the dry season offensive that started in December 2014.

Fields of Control: Oil and (In)security in Sudan and South Sudan reviews the historical linkages between oil and security in Sudan and South Sudan, and provides an overview of the key actors in the sector. After considering the security impact of the political and economic dimensions of oil production, it examines the more direct relationship between oil and violence, assessing the current situation within and between the two states as well as at the local community level as of mid-2015.

Available in:  ARABIC ¦ ENGLISH ¦ FRENCH

On 5 May 2006 the Government of Sudan (GoS) and one rebel group, SLM-Minawi, signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). This ceasefi re and peace agreement was the result of intense pressure from the international community and the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council on both the parties and the mediators in the hope of ending the killing and human rights violations in Darfur. Six previous rounds of talks and the agreements they produced had failed to accomplish this.

A Widening War around Sudan: the Proliferation of Armed Groups in the Central African Republic examines the origins and diffusion of armed groups in northern CAR and emerging responses to instability in the border areas with Sudan and Chad.

In early April 2007, China dispatched Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun to Sudan to discuss Khartoum’s acceptance of UN peacekeeping support for Darfur, which Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had long rejected. It was an unusually direct overture from Beijing, which had steadfastly protected the sovereignty of its African trade partner. Shortly after the visit, Khartoum reversed its previous intransigence and agreed to the ‘heavy support package’ of more than 3,000 UN military personnel to the Darfur region.

On 2 February 2008, a force of around 4,000 fighters from the three main rebel groups in Chad—Union des forces pour la démocratie et le développement (UFDD), UFDD–Fondamentale (UFDD/F), and Rassemblement des forces pour le changement (RFC)— reached the Chadian capital, N’Djamena. Supported by Khartoum, they had come from West Darfur less than a week before, crossing the border around Adé, south of El Geneina.

The formation and functioning of Sudan’s Joint Integrated Units (JIUs), mandated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of January 2005, has proved a major sticking- point in the implementation of the peace agreement. The JIUs are military units composed of members of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), and are designed to serve both functional and symbolic purposes.

The Drift Back to War: Insecurity and Militarization in the Nuba Mountains examines insecurity and militarization in the Nuba Mountains and surrounding areas, a region that has been overshadowed in recent years by the Darfur conflict and, more recently, the insecurity in Abyei.