My Neighbour, My Enemy; Inter-Tribal Violence in Jonglei; Sudan Issue
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HSBA sudanHuman Security Baseline Assessment issue brief Small Arms Survey Number 21 October 2012 My neighbour, my enemy Inter-tribal violence in Jonglei outh Sudan has faced many Inter-tribal conflict in Jonglei state (UNMISS) received early warnings internal security challenges has escalated and grown increas- of an imminent Lou Nuer attack, but Ssince gaining independence in ingly violent since 2009. Attacks they were unable to take adequate July 2011, but one of the deadliest and are ethnically driven and aim not preventive measures. most complex has been inter-tribal vio- only to loot cattle, but also to kill The current SPLA-led civilian dis- lence, mainly involving the Lou Nuer, and abduct women and children armament campaign, which has Murle, and Dinka in Jonglei state. and destroy homes and communal yielded more than 11,000 weapons, Conflict between neighbouring tribes facilities. has helped prevent further large- escalated in 2009 and has become The Lou Nuer attacks in Pibor scale attacks but does not address increasingly violent. county in December 2011 and the root causes of the conflict. Tribal conflict in Jonglei is not a new January 2012 were the deadliest Soldiers conducting the campaign phenomenon, but a series of attacks inter-tribal clashes since a 1991 have committed rapes, torture, and and counterattacks in 2009, primarily Nuer attack on the state capital, killings—mostly against Murle between the Lou Nuer and the Murle, Bor. The size of the attacking Lou communities—deepening Murle has drawn the attention of the inter- Nuer force, numbering up to 8,000 distrust of the SPLA. national community. Underlying causes fighters, was unprecedented. David Yau Yau’s rebellion in Pibor include persistent lack of services, The emergence of rebel militias in county, which re-emerged in mid- increased competition over natural Jonglei state in 2010, notably the 2012, has capitalized on disaffection resources, and the erosion of traditional groups led by George Athor and among Murle communities. leadership structures and the unspoken David Yau Yau, has provided a rules of cattle raiding. Local- and steady supply of small arms and national-level politicians have manip- ammunition to tribal groups. A Inter-tribal violence in ulated the conflict for personal and significant number of the weapons Jonglei political gain, while Jonglei-based supplied originate from Sudan militia groups have provided weapons Armed Forces (SAF) stocks, though Violence trends 2009–11 to tribal fighters to further their own the Sudan People’s Liberation Army In 2009, South Sudan experienced its agendas. The Government of South (SPLA) has, both systematically and worst internal violence since the Sudan’s (GoSS) efforts to address this on an individual basis, supplied Comprehensive Peace Agreement complex of factors will be an important arms and ammunition to Jonglei (CPA) was signed in 2005, when some test of its ability to provide meaning- communities. 2,500 people were killed, and more than ful public security and to govern a The economic and political mar- 350,000 were displaced by inter-tribal diverse population. ginalization of the Lou Nuer and conflict. Almost half of those displaced This Issue Brief reviews the root Murle, the erosion of traditional or killed were from Jonglei state.1 causes and impacts of inter-tribal leadership, increased competition The most intense conflicts occurred violence in Jonglei between the Lou over land and resources, and politi- between the Lou Nuer and Dinka, the Nuer and Murle since 2009, with a cal exploitation have exacerbated Lou Nuer and Murle, and Lou Nuer special focus on attacks by the Lou traditional inter-tribal rivalries. The and Jikany Nuer.2 The period was Nuer throughout Pibor county in Murle are particularly marginalized, marked by an increase in the intensity December 2011 and January 2012. It both politically and socially. and frequency of attacks and a shift in assesses efforts by policymakers, In late November and early Decem- targeting tactics. Whereas raiders once church leaders, and others to address ber 2011, the GoSS and the United focused solely on capturing cattle, the problem. Key findings include: Nations Mission in South Sudan attacks became ethnically driven: in www.smallarmssurveysudan.org 1 Map. Jonglei state, South Sudan International z Tonga l Gha al Malakal boundary r a New Fangak ah B Juaibor U P P E R N I L E State boundary Bentiu Atar County boundary Old Fangak Canal State capital Fangak (Khor Fulus) Main roads Nyirol 50km UNITY Nyirol Mogok Waat Adok Ayod Mwot Tot Walgak Wanding S Pieri h w a l Akobo Akobo Ako ETHIOPIA Duk Fadiat J bo ong Uror A We ta n r z Duk l P ei C i b o a r nal JONGLEI m B aa Pochala ah Kongor an (W r N Ajwara h a it l J e e N be Likuangole ile l Twic East ) Pochalla Rumbek Pibor LAKES Bor South Gumuruk Bilait Churi K e Padak/Baidit n g e SOUTSOUTHH SSUDAN U D A N n a ll Bor ti Pibor Lo Boma WESTERN EQUATORIA CENTRAL EQUATORIA EASTERN EQUATORIA addition to looting cattle, attackers the Murle attacked the town of Pieri, in Lou Nuer attacks, December 2011– began targeting entire villages, killing Uror county, killing at least 750 people, January 2012 not only men of fighting age but also injuring almost 1,000, abducting dozens women, children, and the elderly, and of women and children, and, according By early December, large numbers of destroying their homes. Attackers also to local witnesses, looting 38,000 cattle.7 Lou Nuer youths were mobilizing across began targeting state and international The Murle mobilized hundreds of northern Jonglei, while press releases NGO facilities such as schools and fighters for this attack,8 a departure from a small segment of the Lou Nuer medical clinics. A Lou Nuer attack on from their usual reliance on 25–30 diaspora began flooding the Internet, 10 Likuangole between 5 and 8 March 2009, people. The fighters were armed with threatening the Murle. Youths from in which around 450 mainly women new Kalashnikov-pattern assault rifles Akobo, Nyirol, and Uror counties and children were killed, is regarded as and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), gathered in Pulbura, a village near the start of the current era of violence.3 many believed to have been supplied Pieri, where Dak Kueth, an influential In 2010, inter-tribal violence sub- by Yau Yau (see Box 1).9 Lou Nuer spiritual leader, blessed sided, returning to customary levels of In response to the August raid, the them.11 Some reports said the fighters cattle raiding due in part to compara- Sudan Council of Churches (SCC), were part of a reconstituted ‘white tively high food production. But, at with President Salva Kiir’s blessing, army’,12 but most locals in Lou Nuer © MAPgrax 2012 the same time, the emergence of rebel began talks to end the conflict and areas referred to the fighters as Bunam movements in the greater Upper Nile negotiate the return of abductees and (‘youths’ in Nuer)13. At least half the region brought vast numbers of weap- cattle from both communities. Neither fighters were armed with Kalashnikov- ons to Jonglei, often from Sudan.4 side committed wholeheartedly to pattern assault rifles while the rest A new cycle of violence began in Feb- the process. During the last months of carried machetes and sticks. A few ruary 2011, when the Murle attacked 2011, Lou Nuer youths were accumu- youths carried RPGs and PKM machine Thiam payam,5 killing three Lou Nuer lating small arms and ammunition guns. Observers said many of the attack- chiefs. In retaliation, the Lou Nuer and organizing across various payams ers wore an assortment of South Sudan attacked villages throughout Pibor in preparation for a large-scale attack. military and security uniforms.14 county in April, and then again in June, Fighting ultimately resumed in late On 23 December, eight columns of killing about 600 people.6 On 18 August, December 2011. up to 8,000 Lou Nuer were spotted by 2 Sudan Issue Brief Number 21 October 2012 Table 1 Major clashes between Lou Nuer and Murle in Jonglei, 2009–12 Date Attacking tribe Location of attack15 Deaths (approximate) Cattle stolen (approximate)16 January 2009 Murle Akobo county 300 (Lou Nuer) Unknown 5–8 March 2009 Lou Nuer Likuangole, Pibor county 450 (Murle) 600 18 April 2009 Murle Akobo county 250 (Lou Nuer) Unknown 6 February 2011 Murle Uror county 817 (Lou Nuer) 1,000 18–24 April 2011 Lou Nuer Likuangole, Pibor county 200 (Murle) (138,000) 15–24 June 2011 Lou Nuer Gumuruk and Likuangole, 400 (Murle) (398,000) Pibor county 18 August 2011 Murle Pieri, Uror county 750 (Lou Nuer) 38,000 23 December 2011– Lou Nuer Likuangole and Pibor, 1,000 (Murle) 100,000 9 January 2012 Pibor county 27 December– Murle Akobo, Nyirol, and 276 (Lou Nuer and Bor 60,000 4 February 201218 Uror counties Dinka)19 2 March 2012 Murle Nyirol county 15 (Lou Nuer) 15,00020 9–11 March 2012 Murle Ethiopia 225 (Lou Nuer) 20,000 (near Wanding payam)21 Sources: UN and media reports; interviews with UNMISS; interviews with national, state, and payam officials. UN aerial surveillance marching along and children,27 making this incident the facilities. In Likuangole, the Lou Nuer the Nanaam river, about 30 km north of deadliest inter-tribal attack since the burned down some 90 tukuls, and ran- Likuangole in Pibor county.22 UNMISS Nuer attack on Bor in 1991 in which sacked and burned a municipal build- sent reinforcements in late December, more than 2,000 people were killed.28 ing, school, and a farmers’ association and flew GoSS Vice President Riek Research conducted for this Issue Brief office.