Sudan Liberation Movement/Army

The Sudan Liberation Army or Sudan Liberation Movement (short SLA / M for the Sudan Liberation Army / Movement, Arabic حركة تحرير السودان Harakat Tahrir al- Sudan) is a loose coalition of Sudanese rebel groups involved in the Darfur conflict in Sudan.

The SLA was established in August 2001 as the Darfur Liberation Front (Darfur Liberation Front, DLF ) founded, agreed in March 2003 to the SLA / M and fights since then on the side of the Movement for Justice and Equality (JEM ) against the government in Khartoum, the according to the rebels, the Darfur region neglected and prevents political participation in Sudan. The government then went in front against the rebel groups with their own military and using the Janjaweed militias. Initially, the independence of Darfur was the declared goal, now it comes to political autonomy and economic interests.

The Sudan Liberation Army is supported by Eritrea and the United States and is, in contrast to the JEM, which is supported by Chad, a member of the National Democratic Alliance ( NDA), an umbrella organization for opposition parties in Sudan.

The SLA has weakened since 2005 by internal disputes between individual fractions, which are even fought with military means. It also comes to attacks on members of UNAMID in North Darfur, to steal their vehicles for military purposes. The SLA / M is divided into two main groups SLM -Unity, the leader of the founders of the SLM Abdel Wahid Mohamed is a- Only, and the SLA / MM cleaved under Minni Arcua Minnawi. Of all the rebel groups in Darfur only Minnawi signed in May 2006 in Abuja, the peace agreement with the government. Some non- consenting with this step, SLA commanders ran since about with their people for SLM -Unity. There are more armed, partly independently operating units except these three rebel groups. The situation is confusing, clear boundaries are difficult.