The South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF): A challenge to the Sudan Peace Process

The South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF) is a fragmented coalition of militias and former SPLM/A fighters that provides critical security for Sudan's oil fields and government-held towns in the south. Despite its strategic importance, the SSDF was omitted from the September 2003 Framework Agreement on Security Arrangements, which recognized only the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the SPLM/A. This exclusion, combined with the GoS's policy of dividing southern forces and the SPLM/A's reluctance to acknowledge the SSDF's military capacity, threatens the viability of the peace process. The report highlights ongoing violence in Western Upper Nile and among the Shilluk community as evidence of the instability caused by the lack of south-south reconciliation.

• The SSDF is a large, strategically located force that provides essential security for the Government of Sudan's (GoS) oil fields in Western and Eastern Upper Nile and protects key GoS-held towns including Juba, Wau, Malakal, and Bentiu-Rubkona.
• The SSDF is not a unified entity but a 'broad conglomeration' of various groups, including the South Sudan Unity Movement (SSUM), the Equatoria Defence Force (EDF), and several tribal militias, often managed individually by GoS Military Intelligence to prevent the development of a strong southern separatist movement.
• The September 25, 2003, Framework Agreement on Security Arrangements signed at Lake Naivasha ignored the SSDF, designating only the SPLM/A as the southern security agent, which the report argues is a major threat to the success of the IGAD Sudan Peace Initiative.
• The GoS has historically used the SSDF as a tactical tool to weaken the SPLM/A, but its current policy of promoting approximately 60 SSDF commanders to senior army ranks in January 2004 is viewed by critics as an attempt to divide the south and potentially undermine the peace process.
• The Equatoria Defence Force (EDF), a key component of the SSDF, shifted its alliance by signing the Nairobi Declaration of Unity with the SPLM/A on March 5, 2004, driven by a failure of reconciliation and the need to protect locals from the Lord’s Resistance Army.
• Violence has escalated in Western Upper Nile and among the Shilluk community following the defection of leaders like Tito Biel, James Leah, and Lam Akol back to the SPLM/A, leading to the destruction of schools and clinics.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2004). The South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF): A challenge to the Sudan Peace Process. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANAPR04.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. The South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF): A challenge to the Sudan Peace Process. 2004. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANAPR04.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=The South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF): A challenge to the Sudan Peace Process |date=8 April 2004 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANAPR04.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2004south, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{The South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF): A challenge to the Sudan Peace Process}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2004}, month = apr, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANAPR04.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }