South Sudan: Introduction

The region known as South Sudan was previously a province within a territory administered by Egypt and the United Kingdom. For decades, missionaries converted much of the region to the Christian faith and taught them the English language. Sudan gained its independence in 1956 with the understanding that southerners would participate fully in its political system. The Arab Khartoum government reneged on these promises, causing a mutiny that led to two prolonged periods of conflict in which perhaps 2.5 million people died from starvation and drought. Ongoing peace talks finally resulted in a January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, through which the south was granted a six-year period of autonomy followed by a referendum to determine its permanent status. After a 98% vote in favor of secession, independence was attained on July 9, 2011.