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| SPLM-IO | |
|---|---|
| Name | SPLM-IO |
| Country | South Sudan |
SPLM-IO
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition is a political and military grouping that emerged from the fracturing of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement during the conflict in South Sudan, involving key figures from Juba, Bor, Ikotos, and Kaya and intersecting with regional actors such as Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. It has been central to interactions with the Government of South Sudan, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union, and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan while influencing negotiations linked to the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan and the 2018 revitalized peace process.
Formed amid fighting after events in Juba and Bor that followed tensions between leaders from the Dinka and Nuer communities, the group traces origins to clashes associated with figures from the Sudan People's Liberation Army and events tied to the 2013 crisis, the 2015 peace agreement, and subsequent fragmentation involving regions such as Upper Nile, Jonglei, and Unity. Its timeline includes engagements at Bentiu, Malakal, and Wau, interactions with mediators like IGAD representatives and envoys from the African Union Commission, and shifts related to ceasefires, defections tied to the National Congress Party legacy, and accords mediated by the Troika of the United States, United Kingdom, and Norway.
The formation involved leaders with profiles comparable to commanders and politicians who had participated in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement and the Sudan People's Liberation Army during campaigns in Khartoum, Rumbek, and the Blue Nile theatre, with power centers near Juba, Bor, and Malakal. Leadership structures have been influenced by figures who negotiated with envoys from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, and the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative, and have hosted delegations from neighboring states including Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Egypt. Internal splits have produced factional leaders operating across counties such as Yirol, Torit, and Yei and interacting with institutions like the SPLM Secretariat, the South Sudan Legislative Assembly, and international liaison offices in Addis Ababa and Nairobi.
The political programme combines provisions reflecting commitments to power-sharing models, federal arrangements debated in constituencies including Renk and Aweil, and reform agendas addressing public sector reform in Juba and administrative decentralization affecting counties like Fangak and Pibor. Its platform references peace accords such as the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict, the 2018 Revitalized Agreement, and frameworks proposed by mediators from IGAD, the African Union, and the United Nations, aiming to influence constitutional arrangements debated in forums like the Transitional National Legislative Assembly and workshops hosted by the Community of Sant’Egidio and the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission.
The armed component traces its lineage to combatants from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army who fought in campaigns at Bentiu, Malakal, and Bor and engaged in clashes in oil-rich areas including Blocks 1, 2, and 4 and transit corridors near the White Nile and Sobat River. Operations involved confrontations with units from the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-in-Government, alliances with local militias in Jonglei and Upper Nile, and tactical encounters influenced by logistics routes through Babanusa and transits near the Ethiopian border. Military activity prompted responses from peacekeepers deployed by the United Nations Mission in South Sudan and drew attention from the African Union Standby Force proposals and the United Nations Security Council.
The movement has been a principal party in negotiations mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, the Community of Sant’Egidio, and envoys from the United States, United Kingdom, and Norway, participating in talks that produced the 2015 and 2018 agreements and subsequent protocols on security arrangements, cessation of hostilities, and cantonment. Delegates engaged with the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, the Transitional Government of National Unity architecture, and liaison missions in Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Juba to implement arrangements on reunification of forces, governance of states such as Central Equatoria and Upper Nile, and timelines for transitional institutions.
Allegations raised by organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights have included accusations of abuses in operations around Bor, Bentiu, and Malakal, including reports of arbitrary detention, recruitment of minors noted by UNICEF, and incidents documented by the UN Panel of Experts and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Investigations and reports citing incidents in counties like Jonglei and Unity have informed sanctions and visa restrictions imposed by the United States Department of the Treasury, the European Union Council, and the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
External engagement has involved interactions with states such as Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Egypt, diplomatic outreach to the African Union, negotiations with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, and contact with Western envoys from the United States, United Kingdom, and Norway. Support networks have been shaped by diaspora communities in Nairobi, Cairo, Addis Ababa, and Khartoum, humanitarian actors including the International Organization for Migration and Médecins Sans Frontières, and diplomatic pressures from the United Nations Security Council and regional blocs such as the East African Community.
Category:Politics of South Sudan Category:Rebel groups in Africa Category:South Sudanese Civil War