ConflictBarometer_2015

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
On July 1, clashes between two smaller tribes, the Birgat
and the Khazam, left five people dead, including one police
officer.
On March 26, a local group of lawyers blamed the government
of President Omar al-Bashir for the escalation of the
conflict between tribal communities in the country's peripheries,
claiming that it was encouraging tribes to compete for
resources and power as well as arming them in the context
of its fight against armed groups in Darfur, West Kordofan,
and Blue Nile. According to the UN, approx. 166,000 people
were newly displaced in Sudan in 2015, most of them due
to inter-communal violence. The fighting also aggravated
the food situation in the conflict areas due to the levels of
looting and destruction. nab
SUDAN (OPPOSITION)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2011
beat Darfuri students, in some cases reportedly supported
by the police and NISS. Attacks were mainly carried out with
metal bars and machetes. Throughout the year, student militant
groups of the NCP and security forces killed at least two
people, injured about 230 Darfuri students and detained at
least 275 of them. For instance on April 29, an alleged attack
carried out by 150 militant students of the NCP, supported by
security forces, killed one and seriously injured seven Darfuri
students at a Khartoum university. loc
SUDAN (SPLM/A-NORTH / SOUTH KORDOFAN,
BLUE NILE)
Intensity: 5 | Change: | Start: 2011
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
SPLM/A-North vs. government
autonomy
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Alliance of the Sudanese Civil Society
Organizations, NCF, student-led
groups vs. government
system/ideology, national power
The violent crisis over national power and the orientation
of the political system between various opposition groups
and the government under President Omar al-Bashir and his
National Congress Party (NCP) continued. The opposition
included several political parties, most notably the members
of the National Consensus Forces (NCF), a coalition between
the National Umma Party (NUP), the Sudanese Communist
Party (SCP), and the Popular Congress Party (PCP). Besides
political parties, the opposition was composed of different
student-led groups and supported by armed groups in favor
of the opposition's political agenda [→ Sudan (Darfur); Sudan
(SPLM/A-North / South Kordofan, Blue Nile)]. Throughout the
year, the mid-April national and presidential elections and
the National Dialogue, which started on October 10, dominated
the political landscape.
The first general elections after the secession of South Sudan
in 2011 were carried out between April 13 and 16. Al-Bashir
won officially with 94 percent of the votes.
In the months leading up to the election, all main opposition
parties decided to boycott the election. Furthermore,
all major opposition parties as well as the armed opposition
boycotted the opening of the National Dialogue, a meeting
aimed at settling the many conflicts in Sudan and achieving
constitutional reforms.
On January 4, the parliament passed three new constitutional
amendments introduced by NCP, endowing the president
with the authority to appoint provincial governors and granting
the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) the
same status as the armed forces. Throughout the year, the
NISS detained at least 150 journalists, activists, and opposition
politicians and continued its crackdown on newspapers,
confiscating more than 100 prints.
According to several reports, the police and members of the
NISS used violence to break up demonstrations, as they had
done in previous years. Especially against the backdrop of
the election, security forces violently ended several protests
and detained hundreds of participants for a short time. On
June 12, police forces killed a protester while dispersing a
demonstration in front of a local police station in eastern
Khartoum.
Moreover, NCP associated students repeatedly attacked and
The conflict between the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement/Army-North (SPLM/A-North) and the government
concerning autonomy in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, two
states bordering South Sudan and forming the so-called Two
Areas, continued in its fourth year. In South Kordofan, fighting
erupted in the lead-up to South Sudan's independence
in 2011 [→ Sudan South Sudan] and later expanded to
neighboring Blue Nile State. From November 2011 onwards,
SPLM/A-North was partially operating under the banner of
the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), an alliance of armed
groups from Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan, aiming
to topple Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir [→ Sudan
(Darfur)]. Against the backdrop of presidential elections
scheduled for April, the government increased its attacks
on rebel-held areas, continuing its strategy of systematic
violence against civilians including the burning of crops, the
targeting of infrastructure, and, allegedly, the rape of civilians.
Throughout the year, SPLM/A-North repeatedly seized
garrisons. In addition, SPLM/A-North repeatedly attacked
gold mining areas in the course of the year, e.g. on June
25, near the town of Talodi, South Kordofan, allegedly killing
dozens and injuring about 100 civilians. Altogether, major
clashes in the Two Areas led to approx. 90,000 people newly
displaced by September.
Peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and
SPLM/A-North held under the auspices of the AU High-Level
Implementation Panel (AUHIP) had reached a deadlock in
December 2014. SPLM/A-North had insisted on a comprehensive
solution for the entire crisis in the country, while
Khartoum had demanded a cessation of hostilities for the
Two Areas only. On August 20, al-Bashir expressed his
readiness for a two-month ceasefire in Darfur and Blue Nile,
South Kordofan, and renewed his amnesty offer to rebels
willing to join the national dialogue. In mid-September, SRF
announced its readiness for a six-month cessation of hostilities
and declared a unilateral ceasefire for Darfur, South
Kordofan, and Blue Nile on October 18. Between November
19 and 23, the tenth round of peace negotiations on the Two
Areas was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In December, the
government and SPLM/A-North expressed their willingness
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