SUMMARY
SPLM/A–North (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army-North, in Arabic known as Harakat Al-Sha’abi Li-Tahrir Al-Sudan-Al-Shamal or Al-Jabhat Al-Thawriyat Al-Sudan) was an armed rebel group that splintered from the SPLM/A in 2011.
Ascribing to the political vision of SPLM/A deceased leader, John Garang, SPLM/A–North sought to overthrow the Government of Sudan under President Omar al-Bashir and to establish a system of governance benefiting all, regardless of ethnicity, gender or religion. SPLM/A–North operated mainly in the areas of Blue Nile and South Kordofan located in the south of Sudan, on the northern border with South Sudan. It used refugee camps in the northern South Sudanese states of Unity and Upper Nile, as bases for their troops and recruitment locations.
SPLM/A–North was formed from SPLM/A troops that refused to withdraw south of the 1956 boundary line that became the border between Sudan and South Sudan after the latter gained its independence in 2011. At the time, SPLM/A–North had an estimated 47 000 troops; the 9th Division in South Kordofan consisted of 45 000 troops whilst the 10th Division in Blue Nile had 2000 troops. Upon splitting from SPLM/A, these divisions were renamed the 1st and 2nd Divisions of SPLM/A–North respectively. Due to good relations being maintained with SPLM/A, both divisions of SPLM/A–North was able to retain all their weaponry. Per division, this included: an armored battalion with approximately 30 T-55 tanks, an artillery company of howitzers with 12 guns, three companies of various types of rocket launchers as well as various types of rocket-propelled grenades, mortars, machine, and anti-aircraft guns. The SPLM/A–North was believed to maintain its stockpile by recovering weaponry captured from Government of Sudan forces.
Originally, the Chairman of SPLM/A–North was Malik Agar, an ethnic Ingessana and Governor of Blue Nile state. Deputy-Chairman was Abdelaziz al-Hilu; a Masalit from the Nuba Mountains, who was the former Deputy Governor of South Kordofan, and held responsibility for the SPLM/A–North in South Kordofan. Yassir Arman served as Secretary-General; he was a riverine Arab and was responsible for political issues.
SPLM/A–North founded the SRF in November 2011, a coalition of armed groups opposed to the Government of Sudan led by President al-Bashir. However, due to a dispute over the chairmanship of SRF between the member groups from Darfur, SLM/A, SLM/A - MM and JEM, and the SPLM/A-North based in Blue Nile and South Kordofan, the SPLM/A-North broke away from the alliance in October 2015.
A dispute within SPLM/A-North over the direction and leadership of the group, arose in March 2017. Subsequently, two regional political bodies for the rebel movement, the Nuba Mountains Liberation Council and the Blue Nile Liberation Council, dismissed Agar and Arman from their positions. Former Chairman Agar claimed that the move was illegitimate and amounted to a coup as Deputy-Chairman al-Hilu stepped forward to take over the leadership of SPLM/A–North until a General Assembly could be held to elect new leadership. Subsequently, Abdelaziz al-Hilu became the leader of SPLM/A–North while an SPLM/A–North – MA faction splintered from the group to remain under the leadership of Malik Agar.
The Government of South Sudan has supported SPLM/A–North by providing funding, and by permitting the free movement of supplies and personnel, including SPLM/A–North leadership, in the country. The support likely included a supply of weapons, but this has not been proven.
The Government of Uganda has also been accused of supplying arms to SPLM/A–North, however, this was denied by both the government and SPLM/A–North.
On 23 February 2025, the Sudan Founding Alliance (SFA) was established, bringing together the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the SPLM/A-North, Darfur-based armed groups, and a range of civilian and political organizations. The alliance sought to challenge SAF dominance and reshape Sudan’s political system through a new governance model. With the formation of the SFA, the SPLM/A-North ceased to exist as an independent actor in UCDP data.
