Operation Thunderbolt (1997)
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Operation Thunderbolt (1997)
Operation Thunderbolt (9 March – late April 1997) was the codename for a military offensive by the South Sudanese SPLA rebel group and its allies during the Second Sudanese Civil War. The operation aimed at conquering several towns in Western and Central Equatoria, most importantly Yei, which served as strongholds for the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and helped the Sudanese government to supply its allies, the Ugandan insurgents of the WNBF and UNRF (II) based in Zaire. These pro-Sudanese forces were defeated and driven from Zaire by the SPLA and its allies, namely Uganda and the AFDL, in course of the First Congo War, thus allowing the SPLA launch Operation Thunderbolt from the Zairian side of the border. Covertly supported by expeditionary forces from Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, the SPLA's offensive was a major success, with several SAF garrison towns falling to the South Sudanese rebels in a matter of days. Yei was encircled and put under siege on 11 March 1997. At the s ...
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Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and the Blue Nile. It lasted for 22 years and is one of the longest civil wars on record. The war resulted in the independence of South Sudan six years after the war ended. Roughly two million people died as a result of war, famine and disease caused by the conflict. Four million people in southern Sudan were displaced at least once (and normally repeatedly) during the war. The civilian death toll is one of the highest of any war since World War II and was marked by numerous human rights violations, including slavery and mass killings. Background and causes The Sudanese war is often characterized as a fight between the central government expanding and dominating peoples ...
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James Hoth Mai
General James Hoth Mai (born November 30, 1959) is a South Sudanese army officer. He served as Chief of General Staff of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) from 2009 until 2014. Biography Ethnically a member of the Nuer people, Hoth was born in Ulang County, Upper Nile. He joined the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 1983, and fought with it against the Sudanese government in the Second Sudanese Civil War. Rising in the ranks, he served as head of the SPLA's commandos, was appointed chief of operations for several SPLA offensives named "Operation Jungle Storm" between 1993 and 1995, and took part in Operation Thunderbolt (1997). By the end of the civil war in 2005, Hoth served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics in the SPLA. Formally Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, then Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, he preplaced Oyay Deng Ajak as Chief of General Staff in May 2009. Promoted to lieutenant general in his new position, he was then promoted to full g ...
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Zaire
Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa (after Sudan and Algeria), and the 11th-largest country in the world. With a population of over 23 million inhabitants, Zaire was the most-populous officially Francophone country in Africa, as well as one of the most populous in Africa. The country was a one-party totalitarian military dictatorship, run by Mobutu Sese Seko and his ruling Popular Movement of the Revolution party. Zaire was established following Mobutu's seizure of power in a military coup in 1965, following five years of political upheaval following independence from Belgium known as the Congo Crisis. Zaire had a strongly centralist constitution, and foreign assets were nationalized. The period is sometimes referred to ...
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Yei, South Sudan
Yei is a medium-sized city in South Sudan's southwest. It lies close to the borders of two of the country's trading partners, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a business hub, attracting traders and customers from all three countries. Ivory Bank, Eden Commercial Bank, anBank of South Sudanmaintain branches in the city. Yei is served by Yei Airstrip, and a marram road connecting yei to Juba, Uganda through the Morobo, Kaya border and DRC through the Lasu border Location The city of Yei is located in Yei County, Central Equatoria State in southwestern South Sudan, close to the international borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Uganda. It is approximately , by road, southwest of Juba, the capital and largest city in South Sudan. The geographic coordinates of the city of Yei are: 4° 6' 0.00"N, 30° 40' 12.00"E (Latitude: 4.1000; Longitude: 30.6700). History Before the Second Sudanese Civil War The name Yei was given to the lo ...
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South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya. Its population was estimated as 12,778,250 in 2019. Juba is the capital and largest city. It gained independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011, making it the most recent sovereign state or country with widespread recognition as of 2022. It includes the vast swamp region of the Sudd, formed by the White Nile and known locally as the '' Bahr al Jabal'', meaning "Mountain River". Sudan was occupied by Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty and was governed as an Anglo-Egyptian condominium until Sudanese independence in 1956. Following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon broke out in 1983 and ended in 2005 with the ...
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Eritrean Army
The Eritrean Army is the main branch of the Defense Force of the State of Eritrea and is one of the largest armies in Africa. The main roles of the army in Eritrea is defense from external aggressors, border security, and developing national cohesion. Historically, the predecessor of the Eritrean Army, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), played a major role in establishing and defending the country's independence from Ethiopia in 1991 during the Eritrean War of Independence. Since then the army has continued to be involved in low-level border conflicts with Ethiopia and several other neighbors, including Djibouti and Yemen, with the most notable one being the Ethiopian-Eritrean War from 1998 until 2000, which ended in a partial Ethiopian military victory and Eritrean boundary line victory. It is widely regarded as one of the more capable and largest armies in Africa despite the country having a smaller population than most of its neighbors, with around 250,000 to 300, ...
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Ethiopian National Defense Force
The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) ( am, የኢፌዲሪ መከላከያ ሠራዊት, Ye’īfēdērī mekelakeya šerawīt, lit=FDRE Defense Force) is the military force of Ethiopia. Civilian control of the military is carried out through the Ministry of Defense, which oversees the Ground Forces, Air Force, Naval Force as well as the Defense Industry Sector. History The Ethiopian army's origins and military traditions date back to the earliest history of Ethiopia. Due to Ethiopia's location between the Middle East and Africa, it has long been in the middle of Eastern and Western politics and has been subject to foreign invasion and aggression. In 1579, the Ottoman Empire's attempt to expand from a coastal base at Massawa during the Ottoman conquest of Habesh was defeated. The Army of the Ethiopian Empire was also able to defeat the Egyptians in 1876 at Gura, led by Ethiopian Emperor Yohannes IV. Clapham wrote in the 1980s that the "Abyssinians ad sufferedfrom a ...
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Uganda People's Defence Force
The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–45,000 and consisted of land forces and an air wing. Recruitment to the forces is done annually. After Uganda achieved independence in October 1962, British officers retained most high-level military commands. Ugandans in the rank and file claimed this policy blocked promotions and kept their salaries disproportionately low. These complaints eventually destabilized the armed forces, already weakened by ethnic divisions. Each post-independence regime expanded the size of the army, usually by recruiting from among people of one region or ethnic group, and each government employed military force to subdue political unrest. History The origins of the Ugandan armed forces can be traced to 1902, when the Uganda Battalion of the King's African R ...
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Torit
Torit is a city of Eastern Equatoria State in South Sudan. History On 18 August 1955, the Equatoria Corps mutinied at Torit, starting the First Sudanese Civil War. In 1964 the military government in Khartoum closed "all the Christian mission schools" in the area. Torit was upgraded to Municipality status administered by a mayor on August 19, 2013. Location The city is in Torit County in Eastern Equatoria State, in the southeastern part of South Sudan, close to the international border with the Republic of Uganda. It is approximately east of Juba, the capital and largest city in South Sudan, by road. The coordinates of Torit are: 4° 24' 28.80"N, 32° 34' 30.00"E (Latitude:4.4080; Longitude:32.5750). Population The population of Torit was last estimated at 20,050, in 2004, and, according to census results, 33,657 in 2008. Education Equatoria International University temporarily opened in Torit on 21 June 2019, although the university is building a permanent site south of t ...
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Zairian Armed Forces
The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo ARDC is the state organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FARDC was rebuilt patchily as part of the peace process which followed the end of the Second Congo War in July 2003. The majority of FARDC members are land forces, but it also has a small air force and an even smaller navy. In 2010–2011 the three services may have numbered between 144,000 and 159,000 personnel. In addition, there is a presidential force called the Republican Guard, but it and the Congolese National Police (PNC) are not part of the Armed Forces. The government in the capital city Kinshasa, the United Nations, the European Union, and bilateral partners which include Angola, South Africa, and Belgium are attempting to create a viable force with the ability to provide the Democratic Republic of Congo with stability and security. However, this p ...
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Sudanese Armed Forces
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF; ar, القوات المسلحة السودانية, Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha as-Sudaniyah) are the military forces of the Republic of the Sudan. In 2011, IISS estimated the regular forces' numbers at personnel, while in 2016–2017, the Rapid Support Forces had members participating in the Yemeni Civil War (2015–present), Yemeni Civil War (of which returned to Sudan by October 2019). History The origins of the Sudanese army can be traced to six battalions of black soldiers from southern Sudan, recruited by the British during the Anglo-Egyptian conquest of Sudan, reconquest of Sudan in 1898. Sudan officially became the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1899. The highest-ranking British officer in Egypt, known as the Sirdar (Egypt), Sirdar, also served as List of governors of pre-independence Sudan, Governor General of the Sudan. In 1922, after Egyptian Revolution of 1919, nationalist riots stimulated by Egyptian leader Saad Zaghloul, Egypt was Unilateral ...
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James Kazini
Major General James Kazini (1957–2009) was a Ugandan army officer who served as commander of the Uganda People's Defense Force from 2001 to 2003. History He was born in 1957 in the Basongora ethnic group, in Kasese District, in Western Region of Uganda. He did not attain much formal education. Prior to 1984, Kazini was a member of the Uganda National Rescue Front, a rebel group then headed by General Moses Ali, which was based in West Nile, in northwestern Uganda. Around 1984 he left that group and joined the National Resistance Army, headed by Yoweri Museveni, as an enlisted soldier. He went on to become one of Salim Saleh's body guards. He became a commissioned officer at the rank of Captain in 1987, Major in 1989 and Lieutenant Colonel in 1991. Interdiction In December 2003, President Yoweri Museveni, the Commander in Chief of the UPDF, committed Kazini and a dozen senior officers to the General Court Martial on various charges, especially creation and maintenance of ...
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