Complicated Civil War
The ongoing insecurity and human rights violations have caused massive displacement of populations, and impede
relief efforts. Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS), established in 1989 in response to the conflict-related famine in the
South, is a tripartite agreement of negotiated access among the Government of Sudan, the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement, and the United Nations (U.N.). Under this framework, a consortium of U.N. agencies and more than 40
international and indigenous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide emergency relief and rehabilitation
assistance in Sudan. In addition, more than 10 international NGOs provide assistance outside of the OLS framework.
The current phase of Sudan's civil war began in 1983 with fighting between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan
People's Liberation Army/Movement. The conflict widened in 1991 when the SPLA split into rival factions causing
South-South conflict in addition to North-South. The 18-year civil war in Sudan persists on numerous fronts in both
southern and northern areas of the country, while civilians throughout the South and the transitional zone (i.e.,
southern Kordofan and southern Blue Nile) continue to be adversely affected by GOS aerial bombings and forced
displacements due to the fighting. Northern opposition groups with the SPLA are also fighting the GOS in eastern
Sudan. Since 1999, oil drilling and exploration in western Upper Nile, and the pipeline taking this crude oil to
the Red Sea for export, has increased displacement further.
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