Juba

Juba (jOO'bu) [key], city (1993 pop. 114,980), S Sudan, a port on the White Nile. It is the southern terminus of river traffic in Sudan and is a highway hub, with roads radiating into Uganda, Kenya, and Congo (Kinshasa). A unification agreement arranged in Juba in 1947 joined the northern and southern parts of Sudan, which dashed Britain's hopes of adding the south to Uganda. Juba became the center of southern resistance to alleged northern dominance of the country. In 1955, a mutiny of southern troops at Juba caused a Sudanese civil war, which was settled in 1969. Civil war broke out again in 1983; a peace settlement was signed in 2005. Under the settlement, Juba became the capital of autonomous S Sudan, and many former refugees subsequently crowded into the city and the surrounding area. The Univ. of Juba is in the city.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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