Insecurity in South Sudan: A threat to the IGAD Peace Process

This report by the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the precarious security situation in southern Sudan following the May 2004 IGAD framework agreement. It argues that widespread breaches of existing security agreements, a profound lack of trust between the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), and the failure of monitoring mechanisms threaten the long-term viability of the peace process.

• The security agreements established to maintain peace in southern Sudan have been regularly ignored, undermining trust between the belligerents and casting doubt on the effectiveness of monitoring organizations.
• The Verification Monitoring Team (VMT) and the Civilian Protection Monitoring Team (CPMT) faced significant operational hurdles, including bureaucratic structures, high staff turnover, and direct obstruction from the Government of Sudan (GoS), such as the refusal of visas for Eritrean members.
• Widespread breaches of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement occurred when the GoS and SPLM/A disagreed on whether territory should change hands when local military forces changed their political affiliation, leading to violence and looting in Western Upper Nile and the Shilluk Kingdom.
• In the Shilluk Kingdom, a campaign instigated by the national army through militias resulted in the burning of dozens of villages, the displacement of approximately 50,000 civilians, and the deaths of 50 people.
• The Government of Sudan is accused of violating the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement by restricting humanitarian food distribution to hide the destruction caused by its militia allies from the international community.
• The Security Arrangements Agreement is criticized as a weak framework that erroneously claims only two military forces exist in southern Sudan, while the GoS appears to be using proxy forces, such as the South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF), to maintain influence during the transition.
• Evidence suggests the GoS continues to support the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Equatoria despite public denials, using the group to pressure the Ugandan government and the southern Sudanese administration.
• The report concludes that sustainable peace is impossible without a democratic transformation of the Sudanese state to address root causes of conflict and the marginalization of peripheral groups, rather than focusing solely on security maintenance.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (2004). Insecurity in South Sudan: A threat to the IGAD Peace Process. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANJUN04.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Insecurity in South Sudan: A threat to the IGAD Peace Process. 2004. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANJUN04.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Insecurity in South Sudan: A threat to the IGAD Peace Process |date=8 June 2004 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANJUN04.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudies2004insecurity, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Insecurity in South Sudan: A threat to the IGAD Peace Process}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2004}, month = jun, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/SUDANJUN04.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }