Who Are the S.P.L.M., the Rebel Group Fighting for Democracy in Sudan?

This summer, a rebel group fighting in Sudan gave permission to me and Moises Saman, a photographer, to see its enclave in the Nuba Mountains and to document its side of the country’s civil war. For two weeks we traveled mostly on quad bikes crossing muddy roads, savannas and rocky hills to meet one of Africa’s most elusive insurgent organizations: the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, known by the initials S.P.L.M.

This was a rare chance to see one of the front lines of the Sudanese war, which began in April 2023 when two generals in the capital, Khartoum, began vying for control of the country. Since then, many thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced in the fighting.

Yet compared with the two conflicts that dominate the headlines now — those in Ukraine and Gaza — the Sudan civil war remains unknown to most readers. The country is too dangerous for most nongovernmental organizations and news outlets, and the U.S. Embassy fled for Ethiopia after the fighting started. With the help of the rebels, the Nuba Mountains became our entry point.

Who are the Nuba?

The Nuba Mountains, a region in southern Sudan roughly the size of Ireland, remains one of the world’s most isolated places. Those who live there have long captured the imagination of outsiders. People as varied as George Rodger, a founding member of Magnum Photos, and Leni Riefenstahl, the former Nazi documentarian, came to the region to document its dozens of ethnic groups. This unique mix of cultures, largely Black and African, has long put the Nuba at odds with Sudan’s central government, which is run by Arab elites.

In recent years, the Nuba people have effectively broken off from Sudan, forming an enclave that runs its own schools, courts and military. Those in charge are the S.P.L.M. rebels.