Tensions rise in S. Sudan’s Jonglei after clashes
May 4, 2006 (NAIROBI) — Scores of people were killed and wounded in Poktap when fighting between forces of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and armed civilians of the Lou community escalated on Tuesday, threatening to destabilise a fragile peace in the volatile south-eastern state of Jonglei.
The fighting started when SPLA forces tried to disarm a number of groups of armed Lou civilians – community protection forces that were called the “White Army” during the 21-year civil war. Although an agreement on the voluntary disarmament of these civilians had been reached, the groups resisted when the SPLA arrived to confiscate their weapons.
“It seems that there have been a string of problems between the SPLA and armed civilians, mostly of the Lou community,” a regional observer said. “The Lou-SPLA relations are delicate right now, and it might rapidly deteriorate.”
As a result of the tensions, some Lou groups were prematurely returning to their home area and rainy season territory of Yuai, even though no water was currently available in that location. “If these groups re-arm, you might see an escalation of fighting in the region that might destabilise the whole of Jonglei,” a political analyst warned. The Lou territory is adjacent to the homelands of the Muerle and Jikany Nuer communities. Within each of these communities, a number of armed militia groups are still active, he added.
Some of the most well-known militia leaders in this area include Simon Gatwich of the Lou, the Muerle commander Ismael Kony and Gordon Kong of the Jikany Nuer. “It is very difficult to control commanders at this local level,” the political analyst observed. “Some of them have reneged on their promises, and the recent tensions provide an opportunity to take things backwards.”
“These tensions might lead to the resumption of fighting, which would unravel local peace agreements and agreements on the integration of local militia commanders into the SPLA,” the regional observer warned. A lot of time had been spent on efforts to peacefully integrate members of the Lou community into the southern armed forces, he said, calling the recent confrontations between the SPLA and the Lou “deeply worrying”.
Progress had been made on voluntary disarmament efforts, and a number of them had been quite successful, the observer said. Despite months of discussions with Lou community leaders in advance of the disarmament exercise, however, local distrust had apparently not been sufficiently overcome.
Paulino Matip, the current deputy chief of staff of the SPLA forces and former leader of the South Sudan Defence Force, the largest government-aligned southern militia group, was reportedly scheduled to go to the area to diffuse the situation.
“Voluntary disarmament is a very complicated process that can’t be rushed,” the political observer said. “If you don’t do it right, you can easily stir up old feuds.”
(IRIN)