Fragile disarmament in South Sudan

Aug 3, 2006 (MALAKAL) — Every year, during the dry season, armed youth – the so-called White Army – from communities in Ayod (Gawaar Nuer) Uror, Nyirol (Lou Nuer) and Duk (Dinka) counties take their cattle to the water-rich west of Jonglei State in southern Sudan. Local sources estimate that between 6,000 and 9,000 armed Lou Nuer youth travel through Dinka and Gawaar Nuer lands each year.

Soldiers of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army train in the southern Sudanese town of Rumbek.

Such seasonal migrations were peaceful 30 years ago but became increasingly violent during the 21-year civil war, exacerbated by freely available firearms.

In a bid to restore law and order in the region following the signing of the north-south Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in January 2005, the Sudanese government introduced a disarmament programme in Jonglei last December. Soon, however, the forces of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) were confronted by White Army elements of the Lou Nuer community who fiercely resisted what they saw as forced disarmament. Hundreds of civilians and SPLA soldiers were killed, houses and villages burnt and cattle looted.

Despite the violence, community chiefs acknowledge that no functioning government can be established in the region without a comprehensive disarmament of the various armed groups.

In Akobo, further east from where the clashes took place, close to the Ethiopian border, Lou chiefs and local authorities are trying to convince their constituents of the benefits of handing in their weapons voluntarily before the main SPLA force of 3,000 soldiers arrives to implement a forced disarmament.

“It is commendable that the SPLA has given the opportunity for this local disarmament process to run its course,” said a local observer, who declined to be named. The voluntary collection and registration of weapons was already reducing inter-clan fighting in Akobo, in which 17 people had been killed over the past weeks.

“This was very destructive in the Akobo area, but it seems to be calming down,” he added. “The presence of the United Nations [which deployed 30 military observers to the area] has also made a big difference in terms of building the confidence of the local people in this voluntary disarmament process.”

FORCED DISARMAMENT

Starting in western Jonglei and moving east towards the most militarised communities, the Lou Nuer and the Murle; disarmament initially proceeded without major incident. At end-January, however, SPLA forces encountered unexpected resistance from armed civilians at Yuai in central Jonglei.

The situation was exacerbated by the presence of remnants of former government-supported militia groups who used to fight the SPLA during the civil war. Hundreds of SPLA soldiers reportedly died, the majority from thirst and starvation after they were scattered.

“The government of southern Sudan asked the SPLA to disarm civilian populations. This has been obstructed in Lou, exacerbated by the interference of other groups who incited the people and who even brought more arms into the hands of people, which led to the unfortunate death of SPLA forces in particular, estimated at about 300 soldiers,” Pagan Amum, Secretary-General of the SPLM, the political wing of the SPLA, told IRIN.

Despite several attempts to negotiate a settlement, the 3,000 SPLA soldiers engaged the armed youth of the White Army in March and May and reportedly selectively burnt the huts (tukuls) of resisting White Army members in about 15 villages.

According to a communiqué issued by the Lou Nuer, 546 youths died in the clashes and more than 1,000 tukuls were burnt. A large number of cattle were also lost.

“The Lou Nuer as a community subscribed to the peace initiative and will in no uncertain terms continue to support the government of south Sudan in her endeavours to create a united, peaceful country for the faster realisation of development of our people,” the communiqué stated. “We are therefore not opposed to the disarmament but perturbed by the implementation process.”

The villagers whose tukuls were burnt lost all their belongings while their cattle were taken away, leaving them without food during the traditional lean season. Although some civilians have returned to their homes others remain displaced. NGOs that provided health and nutrition services were instructed by the SPLA to leave the area for safety reasons and many of their compounds were subsequently looted, destroyed or damaged.

Government health structures are lacking in the conflict-affected area of central Jonglei and the NGOs are the only providers of health services. Aid workers say restoring these services is essential to avoid outbreak of diseases and a deterioration of the nutritional situation and NGOs have started to return following the deployment of UN soldiers in Motot town in central Jonglei.

YOUTH RESISTANCE AND MILITIA INVOLVEMENT

According to a political analyst who requested anonymity, a major reason for the White Army’s resistance to the SPLA disarmament programme was the lack of protection for disarmed communities against cattle raiding by their neighbours.

“There [are] imminent inter-community security threats and tension as demonstrated by attacks on the Lou community by the Murle community wherein 150 Lou community members were murdered between December 2005 and May 2006,” stated the Lou communiqué. Neighbouring communities of the Dinka and the Murle also looted 36,956 heads of cattle, it added.

Armed youth were also reluctant to give up their weapons because small arms had become part of their way of life, the analyst added. “These youth find it hard to give up their AK-47s as they are part of a significant warrior age group with a strong macho culture and a history of blood feuds and revenge killings,” he said.

“With livestock as the medium of exchange and prestige, young men in these communities are under pressure to acquire a critical amount of cattle to marry, which often leads to cattle raiding and a spiral of violence,” he observed. “A Nuer bride can cost as much as 40 cows.”

Another problem was the lack of compensation provided in exchange for guns, he added. “Most youngsters acquired their guns at a price of 7-10 cows apiece.”

Some groups of armed youth escaped the disarmament exercise and went on a rampage in the region, attacking previously disarmed, undefended communities in Duk and Ayod and looting the compounds of humanitarian organisations.

Violence was exacerbated by the continued presence of former government-aligned militia groups in the area and various local sources claimed that they continued to be supplied with weapons and ammunition. During the heavy fighting around Yuai, SPLA soldiers intercepted a truck with ammunition in Waat, which was heading for Yuai.

“Although the [Sudanese government] is anxious to establish its control in the region through disarmament, a continued aggressive SPLA approach is likely to drive the White Army and the Lou Nuer community into supporting remnant militia in the region; most notably Ismael Konyi’s Murle militia in Pibor and Thomas Mabor’s forces in Pultruk and Dolleib Hill,” the analyst warned.

“This is exacerbated by the local perception among the Nuer that the SPLA – their former enemy – is on a revenge campaign, rather than carrying out disarmament for the benefit of the local population,” he added.

Other potential spoilers included Gordon Kong who heads a militia in Nasir (on the Ethiopian border), he added, and Simon Gatwic’s militia in Yuai. “Some members of Gatwic’s militia have joined the SPLA along with their leader, while others – under the command of Gatwic’s deputy Simon Weijang Reth – seem to retain links with SAF [Sudanese Armed Forces] elements in the capital of Upper Nile State, Malakal.”

Jan Pronk, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sudan, told reporters in Khartoum last week: “Nobody has the freedom to continue as a third army. If they continue fighting then they are just warlords who are acting in violation of law and order in their country and they have to be addressed. I understand that some forces are still giving them assistance and I made an appeal to them not to do so any more.”

TOWARDS VOLUNTARY DISARMAMENT IN AKOBO

Eager to avoid disarmament-related violence, local authorities, the SPLA and international observers are aiming for a more community-driven process in Akobo – the next area scheduled for disarmament.

“Most of these guns are used by civilian populations to hurt each other and for cattle rustling and many lives are lost in the process. After that incident [the escalation of violence in Jonglei], there is more dialogue so that we achieve peaceful disarmament. We are looking into ways and means to do that,” SPLM Secretary-General Amum said.

“The Jonglei [disarmament] didn’t go very well – too many civilians were killed,” Pronk observed. “Mistakes have definitely been made but they have to learn the lesson. And that is why in Akobo it is going better because police and civilian authorities are being used to carry out the job. I am quite ready as the UN to assist though it is not the official disarmament programme concerning the SAF and the SPLA [the two former warring parties the UN Mission in Sudan is mandated to monitor],” Pronk added.

In Akobo, the presence of UN military observers is now providing a degree of relief to the local authorities who thus far had been caught between reluctant and belligerent armed civilians and a determined SPLA disarmament force.

According to a local observer, 12 weapon collection points had been set up in the Akobo area and each site had received between 50 and 70 weapons over the past weeks.

“They were not just AK-47s, but included mortars and some machine guns,” a local observer said. “They are being collected and registered.” Offering the youngsters positions in the SPLA army or police might persuade the remaining armed civilians to give up their weapons, he added.

Although the SPLA force has delayed its arrival in Akobo to allow for the voluntary disarmament, 10 SPLA soldiers and 11 armed youth have been designated per collection site to provide security.

“The threat of a security vacuum is still very real; especially with their Murle neighbours still armed to their teeth,” the observer warned. “Although a large influx of SPLA soldiers would disrupt the current process, a small deployment of SPLA troops between the Lou and the Murle communities would probably provide the necessary security.”

Another important component facilitating the disarmament process in Akobo was the intensive peace talks that took place at the end of June and resulted in improved Lou-Murle relations and a decrease in inter-community tensions.

“The most tricky part of this whole process is the next step: the disarmament of the Murle,” the observer warned. “Although there has been no major upset so far, there is bound to be resistance.”

Talks between Ismael Konyi and the SPLA are going on to persuade the Murle militia leader to join the SPLA ahead of the disarmament of his community. “A deal with Konyi is clearly key for a successful next step,” the observer said.

“We are in discussions with Ismael Konyi,” Amum said. “He has been offered a seat in the parliament – on an SPLM ticket. We have been talking to him about joining the SPLA – his forces could go into the SPLA. There is no hostility, so far, between these [militia] groups and the SPLA.

“According to the CPA, they should be disarmed by force,” he added, “but that is not our intention at this stage.”

(IRIN)