Sudan People's Liberation Movement – North ( ar-at, حركة الشعبية لتحرير السودان-الشمال, Harakat Al-Sha'abi Li-Tahrir Al-Sudan-Al-Shamal), or SPLM–N, is a political party and militant organisation in the

Republic of Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

, based in the states of

Blue Nile The Blue Nile (; ) is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water ...

and

South Kordofan South Kordofan ( ar, جنوب كردفان ') is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 158,355 km² and an estimated population of approximately 1,100,000 people (2000).government of Sudan Government of Sudan is the federal provisional government created by the constitution of Sudan having the executive, parliament, and the judiciary. Previously, a ''president'' was head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the ...

Creation

The SPLM-N was founded by the organizations of the predominantly South Sudanese

Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM; ar, الحركة الشعبية لتحرير السودان, ''Al-Ḥarakat ash-Shaʿbiyyat liTaḥrīr as-Sūdān'') is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as the political w ...

that remained in Sudan following the South Sudanese vote for independence in 2011. Despite the

Comprehensive Peace Agreement The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA, ar, اتفاقية السلام الشامل, Ittifāqiyyah al-salām al-šāmil), also known as the Naivasha Agreement, was an accord signed on January 9, 2005, by the Sudan People's Liberation Moveme ...

, a low-level conflict continued in

. Conflict with the central authorities has led al-Bashir to ban the party. South Sudan is also said to support SPLA-N operations in Sudan, just as Sudan supports anti-government groups in South Sudan.

2011 Resumption of Conflict

South Kordofan

On 19 July 2011, shortly after the independence of South Sudan/ Nuba Mountains the SPLM-N in

South Kordofan South Kordofan ( ar, جنوب كردفان ') is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 158,355 km² and an estimated population of approximately 1,100,000 people (2000).Justice and Equality Movement The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM; ar, حركة العدل والمساواة, ') is an opposition group in Sudan founded by Khalil Ibrahim. Gibril Ibrahim has led the group since January 2012 after the death of Khalil, his brother, in Dec ...

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

conducted a coordinated attack against the

Sudanese army 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, whil ...

at Pisea, south of the state capital of

Kadugli Kaduqli or Kadugli ( ar, كادوقلي ' Sudanese pronunciation: ) is the capital city of South Kordofan State, Sudan. It is located south of El-Obeid, at the northern edge of the White Nile plain in the Nuba Mountains. It contains Hi ...

. In August, Radio Dabanga reported that the rebels were gaining ground against government forces. The conflict has led to the displacement of nearly 400,000 residents of the

Nuba Mountains The Nuba Mountains ( ar, جبال النوبة), also referred to as the Nuba Hills, is an area located in South Kordofan, Sudan. The area is home to a group of indigenous ethnic groups known collectively as the Nuba peoples. In the Middle Ages, ...

and surrounding areas.

Blue Nile

Disputes over the rightful government of

Blue Nile State Blue Nile ( ar, النيل الأزرق ') is one of the eighteen States of Sudan, states of the Republic of the Sudan. It was established by presidential decree nº 3 in 1992 and is named after the Blue Nile River. The region is host to around ...

led to a resumption of violence in late August/early September 2011. In September and October the SPLA-N formed a government based in

Kurmuk : Kurmuk is a town in south-eastern Sudan near the border with Ethiopia. Kurmuk is inhabited by the Uduk and Berta peoples. Kurmuk is the administrative center for most of Gindi District, Kolnugura district, Borfa District, Jammus Omm Distric ...

, which took control of large parts of the state. The conflict in the Blue Nile has raised fears of a new refugee crisis and a return to civil war. In September 2012,

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

reported that SPLM-N teacher and activist

Jalila Khamis Koko Jalila Khamis Koko (also Jalila Khamis Kuku) is a Sudanese teacher and activist. In March 2012, she was detained by the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and accused of treason. After a 10-month detainment, she was released ...

was summoned by a prosecutor for six charges, primarily relating to state security. The organization stated that she appeared to be "held solely for her humanitarian work and for the peaceful expression of her views", and designated her a prisoner of conscience. She was released after a court hearing on 20 January 2013.

2017 split

In mid-2017, the SPLM-N split between a faction led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu and one led by

Malik Agar Malik Agar is a Sudanese politician and insurgent leader active in the insurgency in Blue Nile state. Second Sudanese Civil War Agar joined the Sudanese armed opposition shortly after the beginning of the Second Sudanese Civil War in 1983. I ...

. Fighting between the two factions in the Blue Nile included the killing of an SPLM-N (Agar) army major by the SPLM-N (al-Hilu). SPLM-N (Agar) secretary-general Ismail Khamis Jallab claimed that SPLM-N (al-Hilu) had refused mediation efforts. A key factor motivating the split was that al-Hilu's group insisted on including the establishment of a secular state in negotiations with the al-Bashir government of the time, while Agar's group disagreed. In the 2019–2020

Sudanese Revolution The Sudanese Revolution was a major shift of political power in Sudan that started with street protests throughout Sudan on 19 December 2018 and continued with sustained civil disobedience for about eight months, during which the 2019 Sudane ...

phase of the

Sudanese peace process The Sudanese peace process consists of peace process, meetings, written agreements and actions that aim to resolve the War in Darfur, the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile (the ''Two Areas''), and armed conflicts in central, north ...

, the SPLM-N (al-Hilu) continued to insist on secularisation of the state as a requirement for a peace deal.

Sudanese peace process

The August 2019 Draft Constitutional Declaration, signed by military and civilian representatives during the 2018–19 Sudanese Revolution, requires that a peace agreement for resolving the

War in Darfur The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups beg ...

and the

Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile The Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile is an armed conflict in the Sudanese southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile between the Sudanese Army (SAF) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N), a northern affilia ...

be made within the first six months of the 39-month transition period to democratic civilian government. As part of the resulting

, on 18 October, after a three-hour negotiating session mediated by a South Sudanese mediation team, Amar Daldoum, on behalf of the SPLM-N (al-Hilu) and

Shams al-Din Khabbashi Shams ( ar, شمس , links=no), an Arabic word meaning ''sun'', may refer to: Media * ''Shams'' (newspaper), a defunct Saudi newspaper * ''Al-Shams'' (newspaper), a Libyan government newspaper until 2011 * Network for Public Policy Studies, an ...

, on behalf of the Sovereignty Council signed an agreement on political, security and humanitarian procedures. The agreement was cosigned by the chair of the mediation team, Tut Galwak. The SPLM-N (al-Hilu) and the Sovereignty Council planned to develop a Declaration of Principles to organise continuation of the peace process and to present their political vision. On 24 January political and security agreements, constituting a framework agreement, were signed by the Sovereignty Council and Ahmed El Omda Badi on behalf of SPLM-N (Agar). The agreements give legislative autonomy to South Kordofan and Blue Nile; propose solutions for the sharing of land and other resources; and aim to unify all militias and government soldiers into a single unified Sudanese military body. On 18 August 2020, the SPLM-N and the Sudanese government signed an agreement to integrate the rebels into the army within 39 months. The SPLM-N (Agar) and SPLM-N (al-Hilu) factions signed a comprehensive peace agreement with the Transitional Government of Sudan on 31 August 2020 and 3 September 2020 respectively, and both factions will now participate in the

transition to democracy Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

in Sudan through peaceful means. Under the terms of the agreement, the factions that signed will be entitled to three seats on the sovereignty council, a total of five ministers in the transitional cabinet and a quarter of seats in the transitional legislature. At a regional level, signatories will be entitled between 30 and 40% of the seats on transitional legislatures of their home states or regions.

Aims and ideology

The party describes itself as "a Sudanese national movement that seeks to change the policies of the centre in Khartoum and to build a new centre for the benefit of all Sudanese people regardless of their religion, gender or ethnicity background". Since the resumption of conflict, the party has called for negotiations and a ceasefire, however some leaders of the SPLA-N have warned of a potential second partition of the Sudan.

Leadership

SPLM-N (Agar)

, the SPLM-N (Agar) faction of the party is chaired by

and Ismael Jallab is the secretary-general."Malik Aggar to head SPLM in the north"
Official website of the Sudan People's Liberation Moverment (accessed 21 March 2011) ,

Yasir Arman Yasir Said Arman (ياسر عرمان) (born October 5, 1962, Al Jazirah) is a Sudanese politician and a leading figure in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). He was the SPLM's deputy secretary-general for the northern sector and its ...

is the deputy chair of SPLM-N (Agar).

SPLM-N (al-Hilu)

, Abdelaziz al-Hilu heads the SPLM-N (al-Hilu) faction.

References

External links

*
Save Jalila
- Website raising awareness of Jalila Khamis Koko {{Authority control Rebel groups in Sudan Political parties in Sudan

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

Banned political parties Sudan Revolutionary Front