Sudan, Eastern Front

Eastern Front : The Eastern Front is a coalition of rebel groups operating in Eastern Sudan along the border with Eritrea, particularly the stattes of Red Sea and Kassala. The Eastern Front's chairman is Musa Muhammad Ahmed.While the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) was the primary member of the Eastern Front, SPLA was obliged to leave by the january 2005 agreement that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. Their place was taken in February 2004, after the merger of the larger Beja Congress with the smaller Rashaida Free Lions, two tribal based groups of the Beja

and Rashaida people, respectively.The justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a rebe

l group from Darfur in the west then joined.
Both the Free Lions and the Beja Congress stated that government in equality in the distribution of oil profits was the cause of their rebellion . They demanded to have a greater say in the composition of the national government, which has been seen as a destabilizing influence on the agreement ending the conflict in Southern Sudan.

Eastern front had threatened to block the flow of crude oil, which travels from the oil fiejds of the south-cetral regions to outside markets through Port Sudan.A government plan to build a second oil refinary near port Sudan was also threatened. The Govt. was reported to have three times as many soldiers in the east to supress the rebellion and protect vital infrastructure as in the more widely reported Darfur region.

The Eritrean Govt. in mid- 2006, dramatically changed their position on the conflict.From being the main supporter of the eastern front they decided that bringing the sudanese Govt. around the negotiating table for a possible agreementwith the rebels would be in their best interests.
They were successful in their attempts and on the 19 June, 2006, the two sides signed an agreemnt on dclaration of principles.

Rebel Sudan Eastern Front