Southern Sudan

Southern Sudan (officially known as the Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan) is located in Africa with Juba as its capital city. Under the terms of the deal with Republic of Sudan, the south has been given a large degree of autonomy and the chance to vote for full independence in 2011 after six years of home rule. The conflict between Sudan's Muslim north and mainly Christian south was, until it officially ended in January 2005, Africa's longest running civil war.

Southern Sudan borders Ethiopia to the east, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the south, and the Central African Republic to the west. To the north lies the predominantly Arab and Muslim region directly under the control of the central government, with its capital at Khartoum. It includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd formed by the White Nile, locally called the Bahr el Jebel.

Southern Sudan, has nearly all of its administrative offices in Juba, the capital, and the city with the largest population.

Geography

Southern Sudan consists of the ten states which formerly composed the provinces of Equatoria (Central Equatoria, Eastern Equatoria, and Western Equatoria), Bahr el Ghazal (Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Western Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes, and Warrap), and Upper Nile (Jonglei, Unity, and Upper Nile).

History

It is estimated that the Southern region has a population of around 12 million, but given the lack of a census in several decades, this estimate may be severely compromised. The economy is predominantly rural and subsistence farming. This region has been negatively affected by the First and Second Sudanese Civil Wars for all but 10 years since Sudanese independence in 1956, resulting in serious neglect, lack of infrastructure development, and major destruction and displacement. More than 2 million people have died, and more than 4 million are internally displaced or have become refugees as a result of the civil war and war-related impacts . The region has been struck by occasional famine. A 1998 famine killed hundreds of thousands, and a food emergency was declared in mid-2005.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) offers no right of continuation of the Khartoum concession agreements if the South votes to secede. Independence for South Sudan means that, as a sovereign state, it does not need to honor agreements made with Khartoum. Those countries that stand to lose the most upon secession are China, Malaysia, India, France, and Kuwait, given their large stakes in Khartoum concessions. With more than 98% of the people in the South desiring independence from Khartoum, there is a high probability that many of the countries now operating in the South will change. Recently, China, Malaysia, India, and France have begun to court President Salva Kiir to protect their respective country's oil interests. British companies have also been courting the Southern Sudanese government with regard to mining exploration, specializing in cobalt and copper. However, much of the population wants a new company which does not have a relationship with Khartoum, especially given the atrocities committed against the Southern people by the central government.

After the death of John Garang, the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF), overcame their mutual antagonism and merged in January 2006 under the Juba Declaration. The SSDF was founded by the current vice president of the South, Dr. Riek Machar, who defected back to the SPLA/M in 2002, leaving General Paulino Matip Nhial as the chief of staff (head) of the SSDF. Under the Juba Declaration, General Matip became the deputy commander-in-chief of the SPLA, and his SSDF forces were integrated into the SPLA, swelling its ranks from 30,000 to an estimated 130,000 troops.

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