The Sudan Handbook

324 thE sudan handbook

for a peace agreement and provides for a referendum on
self-determination for the south.
2003 Heavy fighting occurs in oil field areas of western Upper
Nile as GoS shifts troops from the Nuba Mountains. Lam
Akol rejoins the SPLA. In Darfur, the war escalates: Sudan
Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement
are formed; rebels attack El-Fasher airport, marking the
beginning of current conflict in Darfur; government-
sponsored janjawid counter-offensive begins.
2004 After a major government offensive, President Omar
al-Bashir declares law and order restored in Darfur. UN
Coordinator calls Darfur ‘the world’s worst humanitarian
crisis’. The first Darfur ceasefire, agreed in N’Djamena,
is immediately broken. African Union military observers
arrive in Darfur and large-scale humanitarian intervention
begins. In August, Darfur peace talks begin in Abuja.
Government forces go on the offensive in Shilluk Kingdom,
despite agreement on cessation of hostilities. GoS and
SPLM/A reach agreement on peace protocols in Naivasha.
2005 The CPA is signed in Nairobi on 9 January, bringing an
end to the second civil war. Garang is sworn in as First
Vice-President on 9 July but dies three weeks later in a
helicopter crash. His death leads to violent street protests
by southerners in Khartoum. The Abyei Boundaries
Commission (ABC) submits its report to the presidency,
which Khartoum rejects. The Government of National
Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan are formed.
Civil war in Chad when Sudanese-backed rebels launch
attacks in eastern Chad; Chad declares a state of war
with Sudan.
2006 The Chadian President Idriss Déby, the Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir
sign the Tripoli Agreement, briefly ending hostilities
between Chad and Sudan. Chad accuses Sudan of backing
rebel assault on N’Djamena. Mini Menawi’s faction of
SLM/A is the only Darfur rebel group to sign the Darfur
Peace Agreement with Khartoum; non-signatories to
the agreement create the National Redemption Front in
Asmara. The Eastern Front, a coalition of rebel groups in
The Sudan Handbook, edited by John Ryle, Justin Willis, Suliman Baldo and Jok Madut Jok. © 2011 Rift Valley Institute and contributors

(www.riftvalley.net).