| Stated Role |
The SSDF represents the foremost of the excluded armed entities, referred to as Other Armed Groups (OAGs) in the text of the CPA. Estimated to number between 10,000 and 30,000 fighters at the time of the agreement, the SSDF comprised more than 30 militias that were aligned with the government. Its origins can be traced back to the formation of several key southern militias including the SPLM/A, who formed at the end of the first civil war in 1972. However, differences in goals of self-determinisation for southern Sudan led to a split in the SPLM/A and new groups formed including the SPLM/A-United of Riek Machar and Lam Akol, and the Equatorians who formed the Equatorian Defence Force, EDF. These force collectivised under the organisation of the SSDF with the signing of the Khartoum Agreement in 1997. However, post Juba Declaration, the SSDF has become a divided unit with individual groups supporting either the SPLM/A or the GoS/SAF. Others have not declared allegiance to any particular group - information correct as of September 2006. |
| Notes |
Estimating the size of the SSDF
There is no doubt that the SSDF comprised a significant number of fighting forces at its peak of activity. During the latter stages of the second civil war various components of the SSDF (of which there are over 0) controlled large parts of Western, Central, and Eastern Upper Nile, parts of northern and western Bahr El Ghazal, areas of Eastern Equatoria, provided security for GoS garrisons in South Sudan, and were critical in making possible the development and operation of the country’s emerging oil industry. These achievements required large numbers of men in different locations simultaneously. But arriving at an accurate count of SSDF members remains highly problematic. First, the numbers change constantly as recruitment within some groups is ongoing. Secondly, the SSDF is largely made up of non-regular forces—and the dividing line between civilians and combatants is extremely grey. Thirdly, some individuals may identify themselves as affiliated at one moment but then reject the label once a particular objective has been achieved or given up. [ Retrieved on 24-05-07 - http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/portal/spotlight/sudan/Sudan_pdf/SWP%201%20SSDF.pdf ] |