Publication

This briefing discusses the implications of the death of John Garang, longtime leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), in a helicopter crash on 30 July 2005, on the Sudanese peace agreement. The paper provides an update on the violence and inter-ethnic conflict that has followed Garang's death. It also emphasizes the need on the part of the SPLA to fill the power vacuum Garang left behind with a more democratic and transparent leadership, and to improve South-South dialogue. After discussing the interests of the ruling Islamist faction in the North, and the implications of Garang's death on relations between Sudan and Uganda, the paper concludes that the help of the international community in consolidating the peace agreement at this critical phase is more important than ever.