Chronology
1984 | 1990 | 2000Formation of a Sudanese state
Ottoman-Egyptian conquests bring together various small states or kingdoms under the Turkiyya government in 1821. Although Egypt claims all of present-day Sudan during most of the nineteenth century, it has little effective control over southern portions, while itself falling under British control.
From 1881-85 Muhammad Ahmad ibn 'Abdallah, the Mahdi, leads a revolt against Anglo-Egyptian rule. Mahdist forces capture Khartoum from the British in 1885. The Mahdi dies soon afterwards, succeeded by the Khalifa Abdullahi. Britain and Egypt overthrow the Mahdist state in 1898, sign the Condominium Agreement in 1899 and force the French to withdraw from areas they had occupied. Darfur, which had not been recovered by the condominium, is incorporated into Sudan in 1916.
Towards independence
Indirect colonial rule through sheikhs and tribal chiefs is institutionalized with the creation of Native Administration system. Christian missionaries and anthropologists arrive in southern Sudan.
As nationalist politics develop in the north in the 1940s, the British commit to independence. A separate southern development policy, which effectively sealed off the south from the north, is abandoned. Southern chiefs and northern nationalists agree to pursue a united Sudan in 1947.
In 1953 the Anglo-Egyptian Agreement establishes a three-year transition to Sudanese self-rule.
Independence and war
In 1955 a mutiny of southern soldiers refusing transfer from Torit to the north marks the beginning of the first civil war.
Sudan becomes independent in 1956. Ismail al-Azhari becomes Prime Minister of a coalition government formed by the Unionist and Umma parties. General Ibrahim Abboud leads a military coup in November 1958, dissolving political parties and instituting a state of emergency.
The leaders of the Anya Nya movement assume control of the southern secessionist cause in the early 1960s.
A general strike and popular uprising in October 1964 overthrow the military regime. A transitional civilian government rules until as-Sadiq al-Mahdi of the Umma Party becomes prime minister in 1966.
In 1969 socialist-leaning officers led by Colonel Jaafar Mohamed Nimeiri take power in a military coup. A further coup attempt in 1971 fails and leftists are purged from the army and government, leading to a rift with the Socialist bloc and warmer relations with the USA. A referendum confirms Nimeiri as president.
From peace to renewed war
Nimeiri and Anya Nya leader Joseph Lagu sign the Addis Ababa Agreement in March 1972 ending the civil war. The agreement is facilitated by the All African Conference of Churches and World Council of Churches. A Southern Region is established with an interim government led by Abel Alier.
Nimeiri's Sudanese Socialist Union (SSU) is established as the only legal party in Sudan in 1972, and the following year Sudan adopts a constitution as a one-party state under the SSU with a presidential political system.
Discontent increases in the south as plans for building the Jonglei Canal to improve the supply of water to Egypt provoke violent demonstrations in Juba in 1974. Mutinies of ex-Anya Nya troops in 1975 lead to the formation of the Ethiopian-based Anya Nya-2.
A major coup attempt fails in 1976 but in the following years Nimeiri embarks on 'national reconciliation' with the opposition parties that had supported it. The Umma Party, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Islamic Charter Front (ICF or Muslim Brotherhood) re-emerge in electoral politics. The ICF's Hassan al-Turabi becomes Attorney General.
Anya Nya-2 based in Ethiopia begins hit-and-run attacks in Upper Nile in 1980. The National Assembly attempts to redraw the boundaries of the Southern Region, transferring newly discovered oilfields around Bentiu to the north.
Stringent economic measures recommended by the International Monetary Fund lead to riots in Khartoum in November 1981. Nimeiri dismisses the cabinet and the SSU executive after they urge him to resign. In 1982 the Integration Charter between Egypt and Sudan allowing Egyptian citizens to purchase land in Sudan is met with widespread opposition. In 1983 Nimeiri is elected unopposed to a third term as president. Abrogating the 1972 agreement, he dissolves the Southern regional government, divides the south into three regions and introduces shari'a law across Sudan.
Amidst increasing unrest in ex-Anya Nya army battalions and defections to Anya Nya-2, army Colonel John Garang is sent to quell a mutiny in Bor. Instead he encourages southern resistance and forms the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), based in Ethiopia.
Small-scale military engagements occur throughout many parts of Upper Nile and Bahr al-Ghazal. Tension increases in the Nuba Mountains.
Drought and severe famine occur in the west and east. A state of emergency is declared. International assistance and aid organizations pour into Sudan.
Conflict between the SPLA and Anya Nya-2 in Upper Nile grows and Anya Nya-2 joins the government.
1985
Nimeiri executes Mahmud Mohamed Taha, leader of the Republican Brothers, a small but influential moderate religious movement. He also arrests al-Turabi and more than a hundred Muslim Brothers. After a popular uprising in April, Nimeiri is overthrown by a military coup by his army chief of staff, Abdelrahman Siwar al-Dhab. A Transitional Military Council (TMC) pledges to return the country to civilian rule after one year.
The SPLA makes its first incursions into southern Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains and the TMC begins arming Baqqara. The destruction of a Baqqara village in the eastern Nuba Mountains leads to the TMC increasing support to the Baqqara murahaleen , transferring local Nuba officials and imprisoning Nuba leaders.
The SPLM/A purges suspected Anya Nya-2 sympathizers (mainly Nuer) within its ranks.
The Chevron Corporation suspends oil operations in Bentiu.
1986
The SPLM/A meets civilian elements of the TMC and the National Alliance for Salvation at Koka Dam, Ethiopia. The Koka Dam Declaration announces a formula for peace and a constitutional conference. Parliamentary government is restored.
Following elections, as-Sadiq al-Mahdi becomes prime minister of a coalition Umma/DUP government and meets Garang in Addis Ababa in July. He breaks off contact after the SPLA shoots down a civilian airliner. The UN Secretary General forbids UN agencies from having any dealings with the SPLA.
1987
Rizeiqat tribesmen massacre several hundred displaced Dinka-Ngok in Ed Da'ein in Southern Darfur in March. The army massacres civilians in Wau in August.
A joint declaration on the south is issued by the SPLM, Anya Nya-2 and southern political parties following the Quest for Peace meetings facilitated by the Sudan Council of Churches.
Conflict between the Fur and Zaghawa in Darfur escalates.
1988
There are an estimated 250,000 hunger-related deaths in 1988, many of them in Bahr al-Ghazal, caused by the conflict parties' 'scorched earth' and relief denial policies and compounded by drought and floods.
In January the government and 17 political parties sign a Transitional Charter that stresses Sudan's commitment to multiparty democracy and holding a national constitutional convention.
As-Sadiq al-Mahdi forms a government of national unity with a cabinet including the Umma, DUP, National Islamic Front (NIF) and the South Sudan Unity Parties alliance.
The DUP and SPLM/A meet twice and sign the November Accords agreeing to a ceasefire and the freezing of shari'a law, but the Council of Ministers refuses to endorse the accord and the DUP resigns from government.
Over 50,000 Nuba farmers are displaced in the Nuba Mountains. The Misseriyya murahaleen are reorganized into the Popular Defence Force (PDF), a paramilitary force without parliamentary oversight.
1989
The SPLA enjoys a number of military successes in the early part of the year.
Hassan al-Turabi of the NIF is appointed Deputy Prime Minister in February, but the NIF resigns from government when as-Sadiq begins peace talks with the SPLM/A (along the lines of the SPLM/A-DUP accord) in March. In response to the war-induced famine, the UN negotiates an agreement with the government and the SPLM/A to provide relief assistance to war-affected populations within Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS).
In May the government and SPLM agree on a ceasefire, lifting shari'a and the state of emergency and abrogating military pacts with Egypt and Libya.
As-Sadiq al-Mahdi's government is overthrown in a coup led by Brigadier Omer al-Bashir in June. The new government dissolves parliament, political parties and trade unions.
The new government holds various meetings with the SPLM but rejects previous agreements, including the Koka Dam provisions and DUP-SPLM peace initiative, and refuses to suspend Islamic laws or convene a national constitutional convention.
In October, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is formed from northern and southern Sudanese opposition forces.
With the ceasefire broken, the war escalates in the south.
Former US President Jimmy Carter helps convene peace talks in Nairobi between the government and SPLM/A in December, but no agreement is reached.
The SPLM/A and NDA agree to unite their efforts against the regime.
A coup attempt fails in April and in September an alleged coup plot leads to the arrests of army officers, mostly from the west and south. Arrests in major towns in the north follow peaceful demonstrations by students and trade unionists.
1991
The government declares Sudan a federal country with nine regions.
Following the fall of President Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia, about 300,000 southern Sudanese are forced
to return to Sudan. The Sudanese air force bombs gatherings of refugees.
An unsuccessful coup against Garang by SPLA commanders Riek Machar, Lam Akol and Gordon Kong leads to the formation of a breakaway 'Nasir' faction in August. Fighting between SPLM/A-Nasir and Garang's SPLM/A-Torit ensues. Talks in Nairobi in December do not heal the rift.
1992
January
In Frankfurt, government negotiator Ali el-Haj and Lam Akol of SPLM/A-Nasir make a joint statement on 'special political and constitutional status' for the south.
At a meeting of regional governors in Southern Kordofan, a jihad is declared against SPLM/A-supporting Nuba. War in the Nuba Mountains intensifies.
February-March
A government offensive against SPLM/A-Torit begins and retakes several towns over the following months. Reconciliation talks between SPLM/A factions in Nairobi again fail.
May-June
Talks are held in Abuja, Nigeria between the SPLM/A factions and the government, mediated by Nigerian President Ibrahim Babangida. The two SPLM/A factions merge their delegations but the government rejects their joint programme of self-determination for the south, Abyei, the Nuba Mountains and southern Blue Nile.
September
A third SPLA faction, the Unity group headed by William Nyuon Bany is formed when Garang's Torit group splits.
December
UN-supervised meetings in Nairobi bring the government and the three SPLA factions to agreement on relief supplies to civilians in the south.
Following massacres of Toposa and Nuba people, the UN General Assembly condemns the al-Bashir regime for gross violations of human rights. Fighting in the Ayod-Waat-Kongor triangle creates famine.
1993
March
Several southerners previously detained by Garang join SPLM/A-Nasir to form SPLM/A-United, which engages in fighting with Garang's faction over the ensuing months.
April-June
At the second round of Abuja talks, an SPLM/A proposal of two confederal states is rejected by the government, which conducts separate talks with SPLM/A United in Nairobi.
A truce is negotiated by US Ambassador Petterson in the 'hunger triangle' area (along the Nuer-Dinka territorial divide in Upper Nile) to little effect.
September
The heads of the Ethiopian, Eritrean, Ugandan and Kenyan governments launch the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) initiative to resolve the civil war in Sudan, establishing the IGADD Standing Committee on Peace in Sudan. Al-Bashir accepts the regional initiative and President Moi of Kenya holds talks individually with Garang and Riek Machar.
October
The economic crisis and rises in fuel prices provoke three days of rioting in Omdurman, Wad Medani and al-Obeid.
The US Congress hosts a meeting between Garang and Machar, agreeing reconciliation between their two SPLM/A factions. Garang signs the joint declaration, but Machar disputes Garang's signing on behalf of 'the SPLM/A' rather than 'SPLM/A Mainstream'.
1994
January
IGAD Standing Committee Ministers hold talks in Nairobi with SPLM/A factions, who agree to negotiate with the government on the basis of self determination for the south, the Nuba Mountains and 'other marginalized areas' through a referendum.
February
Sudan's nine regions are divided into twenty-six states.
March
At the first round of IGADD peace talks in Nairobi, President al-Bashir refuses to meet John Garang or to include constitutional principles or self-determination on the agenda.
May
At the second round of IGADD peace talks in Nairobi, a draft Declaration of Principles (DoP) covering self determination and a secular democratic state is issued to all parties.
July
SPLA-United fights the SPLA in Bahr al-Ghazal.
At the third round of IGADD peace talks, the government rejects the principle of a secular state and objects to the wording of the self-determination clause of the DoP; the SPLA delegations accept the DoP.
September
The Lou Jikany peace conference, held at Akobo and sponsored by the Presbyterian Church of Sudan, agrees to resolve the inter Nuer dispute. No lasting resolution is reached but it is a forerunner of later peace initiatives.
At the sixth round of IGADD talks in Nairobi, the government refuses to concede the south's right of self-determination or discuss a secular state; the session is terminated. The IGADD summit later that month reaffirms support for the DoP and forms the Friends of
IGADD (IGAD Partners Forum from 1997), but talks remain suspended for the next three years.
SPLM/A United renames itself the South Sudan Independence Movement/Army (SSIM/A).
October
Lam Akol, dismissed from SPLM/A-United in February, announces his assumption of the chairmanship of a group under the SPLM/A United name. The SSIA attacks Akot in Bahr al--Ghazal.
November
Heavy fighting takes place between the SPLA and former SPLA commander Kerubino Kuanyin Bol's government-backed forces (including Baqqara murahaleen ) in northern Bahr al--Ghazal.
December
The Chukudum Agreement between the Umma Party and the SPLA accepts the south's right of self-determination.
1995
April
A combined SSIA/SPLA force besieges government troops in Lafon, but Machar resists moves towards merging the factions.
Uganda breaks off diplomatic relations with Sudan following a Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) massacre of civilians near Gulu in northern Uganda.
June
The NDA's Asmara Declaration agrees to establish an interim government upon the overthrow of the NIF and affirms the south's right to self-determination, Abyei's right to choose whether to join the south, and referenda for the Nuba Mountains and southern Blue Nile on their political future. The Sudan Alliance Forces (SAF) and Beja Congress join the NDA.
July-August
The SPLM/A and SSIM/A each sign the OLS Agreement on Ground Rules with UNICEF concerning the provision of humanitarian assistance and the protection of civilians and aid workers.
William Nyuon Bany and other SSIM/A leaders 'dismiss' Machar, leading to a split; Machar's faction retains the group's name.
September
The government is implicated in a plot to assasinate Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
1996
April
Riek Machar and Kerubino Kuanyin Bol sign a Political Charter with President al-Bashir in Khartoum. It includes provision for southern self-determination within a united country.
May
UNESCO's Culture of Peace programme brings together SPLM/A and government participants in the Netherlands for a symposium following similar events in Khartoum and Barcelona the previous year.
1997
March
The SPLA takes several towns in Central Equatoria. The NDA captures the Red Sea garrison of Karora.
April
Riek Machar and leaders of five other factions sign the Khartoum Peace Agreement with the government.
July
The new joint Military Command of the NDA is established with John Garang as chairman and Lt Gen Abdelrahman Sayed (former deputy chief of staff for operations of Sudanese army) as deputy chairman.
Under pressure from neighbouring countries at the Extraordinary IGAD Summit, the government accepts the IGAD DoP as a basis for negotiation, not a set of binding principles.
August
Riek Machar is appointed president of the Southern States Coordination Council, to administer the south for a 4 year transition period under the terms of the April 1996 Political Charter .
September
The government accepts a truce unilaterally declared by Lam Akol's SPLA United, which the Fashoda Accord incorporates into the Khartoum Peace Agreement .
October
IGAD peace talks sponsored by the Partners Forum resume in Nairobi but fail due to disagreement on self-determination and the separation of state and religion.
December
Deteriorating security in Darfur leads to a state of emergency.
1998
January
The SPLA captures army headquarters and other locations in Wau, assisted by the defection of Kerubino from the government side.
February
The government attacks positions around Kassala and Qallabat in eastern Sudan, shells villages inside Eritrea and closes the Eritrean border.
March
Paulino Matip leaves the SSIM, but his forces, called South Sudan Unity Movement/Army (SSUM/A) continue to support the Khartoum Peace Agreement .
The World Food Programme states that 350,000 people in Bahr al-Ghazal are in need of food aid as a result of fighting and government flight bans. The second major famine in Bahr al-Ghazal in 10 years galvanizes an international humanitarian response and diplomatic initiatives to seek an end to the war.
May
At talks in Nairobi, the government and SPLM agree on southern Sudan's right of self-determination, but not the definition of southern Sudan or the question of state and religion.
The Ethiopian-Eritrean war reignites, eventually leading both sides to seek improved relations with Sudan by reducing support to Sudanese opposition groups.
June
The New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) organizes a peace gathering of Dinka and Nuer chiefs and church leaders in Lokichoggio, northern Kenya, to test possibilities for a broader peace conference.
August
The US launches a cruise missile against al Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum in retaliation for bombings of US embassies in East Africa, wrongly claiming it was producing chemical weapons and had links to al Qaeda.
At IGAD talks in Addis Ababa, the parties dispute whether to accept the 1956 boundary of southern Sudan or whether southern Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan should be included in the south.
1999
January-February
Al-Bashir dissolves state parliaments to prepare for new elections; but the National Congress, successor to the NIF, is the only registered party until Riek Machar's United Democratic Salvation Front agrees to register as a political party under the legislation which binds all registered political associations to the unity of the Sudan as a federal state and to acceptance of shari'a law.
Fighting between Baqqara, Zaghawa and Massaleit in Darfur destroys many villages.
March
The Dinka of Bahr al-Ghazal and Nuer of western Upper Nile sign a peace agreement at a people's peace conference at Wunlit organized by the NSCC.
An IGAD Secretariat on Peace is established with a view to carrying out continuous and sustained meditation.
May
Government moves to station troops in the oil-rich Nuer area south of Bentiu spark SSDF attacks.
June
SSDF troops in Akobo defect to the SPLA.
July-October
An Egyptian-Libyan peace initiative on the basis of the unity of Sudan is endorsed by the NDA. In October the SPLM/A opposes amalgamating the Egyptian-Libyan and IGAD mediation initiatives.
November
The government and Umma Party sign an agreement in Djibouti, promising democracy and a southern referendum on autonomy after a 4-year transitional period. It is rejected by the SPLA and NDA.
The Waat Covenant is signed under the auspices of the NSCC to end conflict amongst the Lou Nuer.
December
President al-Bashir decrees a three month state of emergency and dissolves parliament, preventing a scheduled debate on constitutional amendments limiting his power.
The Carter Center mediates the Nairobi Agreement between the government and Uganda to stop supporting each other's rebels.
January-February
A new government is announced, with the NCP still in full control.
A new Nuer faction, the South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM), under Wal Duany is launched in Upper Nile. Riek Machar resigns from government and reforms a military force called the Sudan People's Democratic Front (SPDF).
IGAD-sponsored talks make no progress on key issues.
May
The NSCC facilitates the East Bank People-to-People Peace and Reconciliation Conference in Liliir, Upper Nile, between groups of Dinka, Nuer, Anuak, Murle, Jie and Kichepo.
The anonymously published Black Book begins to circulate in Khartoum, documenting discrimination, marginalization and atrocities in western Sudan.
September
Al-Turabi's Popular National Congress (PNC) organizes anti-government demonstrations in many northern regional towns.
An NDA conference endorses a proposal for reconciliation talks with Khartoum but does not abandon its commitment to overthrow the regime. The Umma Party, which had suspended its membership of the NDA in March, withdraws completely.
October
At IGAD talks at Lake Bogoria, Kenya, the government, SPLM/A and mediators state their positions on all elements of the DoP in writing for the first time.
November
Following the withdrawal of Eritrean support for NDA forces in eastern Sudan, the government heavily defeats NDA forces outside Hamesh Koreb.
December
President al-Bashir is elected to a further presidential term in an election boycotted by major opposition parties.
2001
January
The government destroys several villages in northern Bahr al-Ghazal, encouraging Baqqara to settle in depopulated territory. The SPLA loses ground in the Nuba Mountains.
February
The SPLM/A and PNC sign a memorandum of understanding in Geneva, agreeing to work jointly for a democratic system, a just peace and a federal government. Two days later al-Turabi is placed under house arrest in Khartoum.
May
The SPLA begins an offensive in Western Bahr al-Ghazal.
June-July
At the Summit of the IGAD Committee on Sudan, Nairobi, the Heads of State from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Eritrea meet Garang and al-Bashir separately. They agree to appoint fully mandated negotiation teams to the Secretariat to facilitate the negotiation process without interruption.
A new 9 point Egyptian-Libyan Initiative (ELI) calls for an immediate ceasefire, the preservation of Sudanese unity and decentralization, but avoids mentioning of the issues of self-determination or religion and the state. The government accepts the ELI and SPLM/A accepts with conditions.
September
The US appoints Senator John Danforth as its special envoy for Sudan.
Following the 11 September attacks in the USA, the Sudanese government begins cooperating in tracking down al Qaeda members. The US shelves its proposed Sudan Peace Act but continues unilateral sanctions. Meanwhile the UN Security Council lifts diplomatic sanctions against Sudan imposed in 1996.
October
President Moi of Kenya appoints Lt Gen Lazaro Sumbeiywo as IGAD mediator. Senator Danforth begins his mission to Sudan.
2002
January
The Nairobi Declaration reunites Riek Machar's SPDF with the SPLM/A.
The government and SPLM/A sign a ceasefire agreement jointly mediated by Switzerland and the USA, providing for a six-month renewable ceasefire in the Nuba Mountains, to be monitored by the Joint Monitoring Mission and Joint Military Commission, comprising 50 unarmed foreign personnel.
The 9th IGAD Summit notes that the IGAD Partners Forum initiative requires revitalization and new defined roles to ensure commitment. Sumbeiywo later invites the US, UK, Norway and Italy to be observers.
Misseriyya and Dinka-Ngok leaders sign the Abyei Declaration to end their conflict after negotiations assisted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the European Union and the Dutch Embassy in Khartoum.
February
A helicopter gunship attacks a UN feeding centre at Bieh and the US suspends participation in the peace process.
March
Uganda and Sudan sign an agreement allowing the Ugandan army to enter Sudan in pursuit of the LRA.
The government and SPLM/A sign a US brokered limited agreement on the protection of civilians. A Civilian Protection Monitoring Team is created.
April
The Sudanese army begins a major offensive in Bahr al-Ghazal and Upper Nile.
US Special Envoy John Danforth reports to President George Bush, recommending continued US engagement in the peace process, proposing oil revenue sharing arrangements between the north and south and guarantees for religious freedom, but rejecting southern independence and a secular state.
May-June
IGAD peace talks in Nairobi in May end acrimoniously but the parties adopt the Modalities of the Task Force. Talks resume in June in Machakos.
July
The Umma Party splits over the leadership's willingness to join the government.
The Machakos Protocol on the framework for future talks is signed on 20 July by the government and SPLM. It allows for a referendum in southern Sudan on secession after a six-and-a-half-year transition period, while the north is allowed to keep shari'a law.
The government and SSLM sign a separate peace charter on 21 July.
A government offensive against SPLM/A held territory in western Upper Nile begins on 26 July.
Al-Bashir and Garang meet in Kampala on 27 July and pledge continued support for the peace process.
August
The NSCC facilitates a local peace agreement between the SPLM/A and Didinga.
September
The SPLA retakes Torit. The government suspends its participation in the second round of Machakos peace talks in protest and complains about the SPLM/A demand that Khartoum be shari'a -free.
October
The government and SPLM/A agree to resume talks and sign a cessation of hostilities on 15 October.
President Bush signs into US law the Sudan Peace Act, providing humanitarian assistance to SPLM areas and monitoring progress towards peace.
November
The cessation of hostilities agreement is extended and a memorandum of understanding signed on Aspects of Structures of Government .
2003
January
The IGAD talks resume in Karen, Nairobi, after delay caused by disagreement over whether the three disputed border territories of southern Blue Nile, Abyei and the Nuba Mountains may be discussed.
The UN negotiates separate bilateral agreements with the SPLM/A and the Sudanese government to allow delivery of humanitarian aid into southern Blue Nile.
February-March
The government and SPLM/A sign an addendum to the cessation of hostilities and a memorandum of understanding elaborating points of agreement on both political and economic issues.
A new insurgent group calling itself the Front for the Liberation of Darfur is launched but quickly adopts a new name: the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A). The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) also announces its existence.
Sumbeiywo leads Kenyan (rather than IGAD) mediated negotiations on the 'three areas' in parallel to IGAD talks.
April
Garang and al-Bashir meet in Nairobi at the initiative of President Kibaki of Kenya. Security arrangements are principal topic of the fourth session of the Political Committee Task Force. No agreement is reached.
The SLA attacks al-Fasher airport, killing over a hundred troops and seizing military hardware.
May
IGAD talks continue in Machakos. A partnership agreement is signed by the government and SPLM/A on meeting the humanitarian, security and development needs of southern Sudan during the first six months of the interim period.
The SPLM/A, DUP and Umma Party sign the Cairo Declaration , outlining a common position on a national capital not subject to shari'a law.
June
The situation in Darfur deteriorates as the janjaweed -led counter-offensive against Darfur insurgents advances with the burning of villages. Many refugees flee to Chad.
Sumbeiywo visits Khartoum and southern Sudan to discuss outstanding issues with the government.
The USAID-funded Sudan Peace Fund sponsors an All Upper Nile Peace Conference, attended by the SPLM/A but not the leaders of other Upper Nile political and armed factions.
July
At IGAD talks in Nakuru, Kenya, the government rejects a draft framework for resolution of outstanding issues (the 'Nakuru document') and the talks end early. The SPLM/A accepts it as a framework for further discussion.
September
Following the first direct negotiations between Garang and Taha at Naivasha, the government and SPLM/A sign a Framework Agreement on Security Arrangements during the Interim Period.
Chad brokers a ceasefire between the government and SLM/A paving the way for further talks on Darfur.
October
Lam Akol merges the SPLM/A-United with the SPLM/A.
December
Government and SPLM/A negotiators agree in principle on the sharing of oil revenues. A high-profile SPLM/A delegation visits Khartoum.
The government and the NDA sign the Jeddah Agreement , indicating the NDA/DUP would negotiate itself into a future government of national unity.
Peace talks between the government and SLM/A in Chad break down and security in Darfur deteriorates.
2004
January-February
The government and SPLM/A sign an Agreement on Wealth-Sharing during the Pre-Interim and Interim Period in January and resume talks in February.
The NDA accepts the SLM/A as a new member. The government suspends contact with the NDA.
March-April
Peace talks between the government and the SLM/A and JEM start in the Chadian capital N'Djamena. In April they agree a renewable 45-day ceasefire, the establishment of a Joint Ceasefire Commission and a commitment to further peace talks.
IGAD talks deal with security issues.
May
The government and SPLM/A agree a power-sharing protocol and protocols on the three areas, bringing the bilateral political negotiations to a close. The parties formally commit themselves (in the Nairobi Declaration of 5 June) to further joint work on a permanent ceasefire, implementation and technical details.
The Agreement on the Modalities for the Establishment of the Ceasefire Commission and Deployment of Observers , signed in Addis Ababa, acknowledges the African Union (AU) as the lead international body in the Darfur peace process.
June
The US Congress describes the Darfur crisis as 'genocide.' A donor meeting in Geneva, Switzerland appeals for at least US$236 million to help Darfur.
July-August
The AU convenes first round of the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks between the government and Darfur insurgents in Addis Ababa.
UN Security Council Resolution 1556 calls on the government to make progress on commitments to disarm the janjaweed militias and restore security in Darfur. The UN's Jan Pronk and Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail sign a 30-day plan committing Khartoum to take 'detailed steps' to disarm the janjaweed , but it does not prove effective. The first contingent of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) peacekeeping force arrives in Darfur to protect the AU observer mission in the town of al-Fasher.
September
The second round of talks on Darfur opens in Abuja. The parties agree to structure their discussions around humanitarian issues, security issues, political questions, and economic and social affairs.
The UN Security Council sets up an Independent Commission of Inquiry into Darfur and adopts a resolution threatening sanctions unless there are tangible efforts to protect civilians in Darfur.
The government accuses al-Turabi's PNC of plotting to overthrow President al-Bashir and increases security around Khartoum.
October
Talks on a final peace settlement between the government and SPLM/A resume in Nairobi.
November
The AU convenes the third round of talks on Darfur. The parties sign security and humanitarian protocols and the government agrees to end military flights over Darfur.
The UN Security Council meets in Nairobi to emphasize concern over the region. The government and SPLM/A commit themselves to signing a final agreement by 31 December.
December
The AU holds the fourth round of Darfur talks in Abuja but no political progress is made.
Taha and Garang resume high-level talks, signing three agreements on implementation modalities on 31 December.
2005
January
The government and SPLM/A sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement on 9 January in Nairobi.
Sudanese security forces kill over 20 people and wound hundreds more while crushing a Beja demonstration in Port Sudan.
A UN-appointed commission of inquiry finds that mass killings in Darfur did not amount to genocide.
March-April
The Joint Assessment Mission (JAM) report, prepared by the government, the SPLM/A, the World Bank and UNDP estimates the cost of initial post-war recovery and development for Sudan at US$7.9 billion.
UN Security Council Resolution 1593 establishes the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) with 10,000 troops and up to 715 civilian police to be sent to southern Sudan and the disputed areas. Resolution 1593 authorizes sanctions on ceasefire violators in Darfur and allows suspected perpetrators of abuses to be tried at the ICC.
The Beja Congress destroys three government military camps at the Red Sea town of Tokar.
The fifth round of talks on Darfur begins.
June
The government and NDA sign the Cairo Agreement , clearing the way for the DUP to participate in power-sharing.
July
The government, SLM/A and JEM sign a Declaration of Principles for the resolution of the conflict in Darfur.
Garang is sworn in as Sudan's First Vice-President on 9 July. Ali Osman Taha becomes Second Vice-President. Three weeks later Garang dies in a helicopter crash on his way back to southern Sudan from Uganda. At least 130 people are killed in three days of violence that follow.
August-September
New SPLM leader Salva Kiir Mayardit is sworn in as First Vice-President. Al-Bashir swears in the cabinet of the new Government of National Unity (GNU). The Interim Legislative Council of Southern Sudan is officially inaugurated in Juba.
An escalation of violence forces the UN to suspend work in many areas of Darfur.
October
Salva Kiir announces the formation of a cabinet for the autonomous Government of Southern Sudan.
November
Minni Arkou Minnawi is elected president of the SLM/A; the incumbent president Abdelwahid Mohamed en-Nour's refusal to recognize the outcome leads to a split. They eventually agree to present a joint position at the seventh round of talks in Abuja.
December
Salva Kiir signs a new constitution for Southern Sudan.
2006
January
The Darfur talks temporarily halt in fear that the AU Summit in Khartoum would give Sudan the AU chair for 2006. The AU instead agrees to give Sudan the chair in 2007.
May
After several deadline extensions, the government and Minnawi's SLM/A faction sign the Darfur Peace Agreement on 5 May, but the JEM and Abdelwahid's SLM faction refuse to sign. A 31 May deadline for further signatories passes.
The government and Eastern Front and GNU sign a procedural agreement in Asmara under Eritrean mediation.
June
The government and the Eastern Front sign a ceasefire and agree on a framework for substantive peace talks to end the conflict in eastern Sudan.
August-September
Minnawi is sworn in as Assistant to the President of the Republic.
As violence in Darfur increases, the government rejects a UN resolution calling for a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur, saying it would compromise Sudanese sovereignty. The AU peacekeeping mission's mandate is extended to the end of the year as the government continues to resist a handover.
October
The government and Eastern Front sign the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement in Asmara. It provides for power sharing and resource sharing between the GNU and the three eastern states of Kassala, Red Sea and al-Qadarif.
The government expels the head of the UN Mission in Sudan, Jan Pronk, for remarks in his personal web log about the activities of the Sudanese Armed Forces in Darfur.
November
The government agrees in principle to a hybrid AU-UN peacekeeping operation in Darfur. It later insists that the UN troops are limited to advisory, technical, logistical or financial support. The AU's mandate is renewed for a further six months.
UNMIS states that there has been a major ceasefire violation in southern Sudan as a "large number" of people are killed in fighting involving the SPLA and the Sudanese Armed Forces around Malakal, Upper Nile.