The second civil war dominated South Sudan's history during the period 1983–91. Since the late 1970s, groups of insurgents calling themselves Anya-Nya2 had already been operating in some parts of Bahr al-Ghazal and Upper Nile provinces. By the early 1980s, the political order instituted by the Addis Ababa Agreement had all but collapsed. Unrest and protests reached unprecedented levels and large swaths of the south were simmering with insecurity and violence. The new war, which started in 1983, was radically different from the first. Instead of southern secession, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) advocated a reformed, secular and democratic Sudan. Compared to the Anya-Nya of the first war, the SPLM/A was also bigger, better coordinated, and more politically savvy. It found allies elsewhere in Sudan and managed to take the fight to the north. The new war was also more intense and resulted in large-scale destruction and displacement. The ensuing humanitarian crises and developments in international politics resulted in unprecedented foreign involvement.

Return to civil war in South Sudan

Violence in and around the town of Bor on May 16, 1983, marked the beginning of the second civil war. On that day the government decided to use force to end a mutiny which had already been under way since March because the soldiers there, all former Anya-Nya, had gone unpaid owing to allegations of corruption. This crisis was accompanied by renewed rumors that all former Anya-Nya were to be transferred north. A force sent from Juba clashed with the Bor garrison. The mutineers fled to Ethiopia and established themselves in bases at Itang, Bonga, and Dimma. The garrisons of Ayod, Waat, Boma, and Pochalla went with them. The future leader of the SPLM/A, John Garang de Mabior, was already in Bor – allegedly on leave. He was part of an underground network already planning a new uprising on August 18, the anniversary of the 1955 Torit Mutiny. Among other leaders were Kerubino Kwanjin Bol, William Nyoun, Arok Thon Arok, Joseph Oduho, Salva Kiir, Martin Manyiel, and Nyachigak Ng'achiluk (who was killed in 1984). All except Oduho were military officers.