Sudan People's Liberation Army

The military wing of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, it fought Sudan's government in the Second Sudanese Civil War and became a central force in southern Sudanese politics.

Sudan People's Liberation Movement: A southern Sudanese political movement founded in 1983 alongside its armed wing, the Sudan People's Liberation Army. The movement supplied the army's political leadership and articulated its goals.
Guerrilla warfare: Irregular warfare in which smaller forces use mobility, ambushes, and local support against stronger opponents. The SPLA relied extensively on mobile attacks rather than conventional front-line combat.
Comprehensive Peace Agreement: The 2005 accord that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War and set terms for southern autonomy and a referendum. The SPLA signed the agreement, which created the path to South Sudan's independence.
Anyanya: The name used for southern Sudanese rebel forces during the First Sudanese Civil War. It was the earlier southern insurgency whose unresolved settlement preceded the SPLA's rise.
Second Sudanese Civil War: A war fought between Sudan's government and southern rebels from 1983 to 2005. The army was the principal southern insurgent force in this conflict.
SPLA-United: A faction that broke from the SPLA in 1991 under Riek Machar and Lam Akol. Its breakaway exposed deep disputes over command and the movement's political direction.
South Sudanese independence: The establishment of the Republic of South Sudan as an independent state on 9 July 2011. The movement's armed struggle and political organization helped secure independence.
Sudan Armed Forces: The national military of Sudan, responsible for the country's defense and under the authority of its central government. It was the government force against which the SPLA fought.
Torit's Mutiny: A 1955 revolt by southern Sudanese soldiers against colonial Sudanese authorities, shortly before Sudanese independence. It became an earlier precedent for southern soldiers' resistance to rule from Khartoum.
SPLA-IO: A South Sudanese armed opposition movement led by Riek Machar, formed after conflict erupted in 2013. It is a later movement with a related name, not a faction of the wartime SPLA.

Linked from 8 pages