This report examines the extent to which the Juba Declaration's primary objective of unity between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) has been achieved. In so doing, it describes what institutional obstacles remain to the further integration of the two groups, discusses which particular former SSDF groups and leaders are resisting integration, and suggests how security has improved or deteriorated as a result of the Juba Declaration.

Almost a year has passed since the Juba Declaration formally merged the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF), an umbrella of government-aligned armed groups.