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For all but 11 years of 51 years of its existence as an independent state, Sudan suffered from civil war. The conflict between the North and the South had erupted one year before Sudan gained its independence in 1956.
The civil war in Sudan can be divided into two phases, the first civil war and the second civil war. The first civil war, also known as Anyanya One, was a conflict from 1955 to 1972 in which the southern rebels demanded more autonomy for the south. This persistnet state of insurgency against the central government came to an end in 1972 after the signing of the Addis Ababa Accords which granted southern Sudan wide regional autonomy in internal matters.
The second phase of the war, which ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of Sudan and Sudan's People liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), broke out in 1983, following the breakdown of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement. The root causes of the war lie in disputes over resources, power-sharing, the role of religion in the state and self-determination.
The ensuing 21-year conflict devastated vast areas of Africa's largest country and crippled its stability, growth and development. The Sudanese people have paid a terrible price: more than two million died, four million were uprooted from their homes, and some 600,000 people sought refuge beyond Sudan's border.
During the course of the war, there were numerous attempts by various external actors, including neighboring states, concerned donors, international powers, as well as the parties themselves, to bring the conflict to an end. However, the immense complexities of the war and the lack of political will prevented its earlier resolution.
In 1993, the heads of state of the member countries in the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) became involved in the latest initiative to bring the parties together. This marked the beginning of a long process that led to the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement, commonly known as the Naivasha Agreement, comprised of a set oof protocols, was meant to end the Second Sudanese Civil War, develop democratic governance nationwide and share oil revenues. It further set a timetable by which Southern Sudan would have a referendum on self-determination.
The process resulted in the following protocols:
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The Machakos Protocol: Signed in Machakos, Kenya, on 20 July 2002. An agreement on broad principles of government and governance
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The Security Arrangements Protocol: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 25 September 2003.
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The Wealth-Sharing Protocol: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 7 January 2004
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The Power-Sharing Protocol: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 26 May 2004
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The Protocol on the Resolution of Conflict in Abyei: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 26 May 2004
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The Protocol on the Resolution of Conflict in Southern Kordofan/Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile States: Signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on 26 May 2004
Permanent Ceasefire and Security Arrangements Implementation Modalities During the Pre-Interim and Interim Periods: Signed in Naivasha on 31 December 2004
The final agreement, tying together and setting in motion all the protocols, implementation modalities and ceasefire was signed on 9 January 2005
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Comprehensive Peace Agreement 
