 After their military victory, the rebels also announced that they had renamed the town into “Deim New Sudan” after the vision of SPLA leader John Garang for a Sudan of unity in diversity.When the Khartoum government prepared for a counter-offensive to recapture Deim Zubeir, “"the SPLA allegedly warned a security official with UN Operation Lifeline Sudan that the SPLA had used antipersonnel mines in October 2001 to defend the airstrip at Deim Zubeir"”.In November 2001 the government army took over Deim Zubeir again, with support from one of its Southern proxy militia, the South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF).