Abstract

The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Sudanese government and the Southern People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in 2005 ended the long lasting North-South civil war in Sudan. But Sudan in the post-CPA era has been far from peaceful, and the government has continuously failed to provide the basic right of civilians to be protected from violence in armed conflicts. This paper addresses the exclusive nature of the CPA . What impact did it have that only the two belligerents of the North-South war was included, while other groups were left out? Is there any relationship between the CPA and the intra-state conflicts in “post-war” Sudan? The paper takes a closer look at the development of the insurgency in Darfur. Although this conflict has a long and complex history that predates the CPA , there is a link between how the Darfurian rebel movements related to the North-South peace negotiations and the escalation of insurgency in the area.

Lovise Aalen (PhD Political Science, University of Oslo) is a senior researcher at Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway, and currently academic visitor to the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford