Liberty The shooting war has stopped in the Sudanese regions controlled by the southern rebel groups that signed the 1997 Khartoum Peace Agreement. Citizens enjoy the freedom of movement that is essential to their survival. The people are free to order their lives in ways that make best use of their energy and problem-solving capabilities. Wal's 1998 visit to Bentiu in the Upper Nile region revealed that the commercial and social activities of the local people are gradually returning to their normal patterns. Farming on individual and collective tracts, trade among local and northern merchants, the existence of cattle, and road repairs were some of the evidence.
Medical aid continues, but, in general, food aid is no longer needed.
Yet shocking reports of famine in the southern region of Bahr al-Ghazal have appeared in the Western press. The SPLA was among those who proposed the idea of dropping food into southern Sudan. The plan depended on the ability of the people on the ground to collect and distribute the aid. The government and the rebels both agreed to refrain from using the food as a weapon. To expedite distribution, the SPLA herded citizens into concentration zones.