ATTEMPTS TO HALT CONFLICT IN UPPER JONGLEI

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001169

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSTIVIE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINS PHUM MOPS SU
SUBJECT: ATTEMPTS TO HALT CONFLICT IN UPPER JONGLEI

REF: A. Khartoum 482, B. Khartoum 292


1. (SBU) Summary: There have been clashes between the
SPLA and Lou Nuer herders associated with the White Army,
a continuation of conflict that first erupted during
attempts at disarmament last January (reftels). Recent
attempts by the SPLA to again forcibly disarm the White
Army militia near Toich has resulted in fighting that has
left about 100 dead, including civilians, and has
destabilized the Nyirol and Uror areas. The instigators
and the chronology of events depend upon who is telling
the story, but the attempted SPLA disarmament of the
White Army has clearly inflamed the situation. The
international representatives based in Juba are urging a
halt to military action and a return to dialogue. End
summary.

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Chronology of Events
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2. (SBU) The latest round of unrest began in late April
when Lou Nuer herders, many of whom are young men
affiliated with the White Army tribal militia, refused to
disarm and then moved their herds west from the arid area
around Yuai to the banks of the Toich River, forcing
their way through the normal territory of other groups.
Vice President Riek Machar, Security and Police Minister
Daniel Awet, SPLA officers, tribal chiefs, and area MPs
had held meetings seeking a peaceful solution to the
contentious migration, including disarmament of the White
Army. Some herders reportedly agreed to surrender their
arms in return for SPLA escort and protection, but when
teams of chiefs, SPLA officers, and White Army
representatives went to collect the arms from various
cattle camps, some agreed (and turned over 700 arms)
while others refused, saying disarmament would prevent
them from protecting their herds from rival groups.


3. (SBU) SPLA troops escorting the disarmed groups
reportedly began requisitioning as many as 30 cattle per
day for food. The herders complained, then drove their
herds to join other camps that had not disarmed. SPLA
troops followed the retreating Lou toward the armed
camps, where a SPLA reconnaissance force stumbled into a
White Army force. In the ensuing clash, the White Army
defeated the SPLA force. The next morning, on or about
April 26, a reinforced SPLA force with truck-mounted
heavy weapons attacked a camp and defeated the White
Army. Forty-three herders were killed in the fighting,
including six women and two children. When the Lou
fighters fled the scene, the SPLA reportedly seized the
cattle left behind.


4. (SBU) The White Army counterattacked and in turn
defeated the SPLA, which suffered an unknown number of
casualties. Jonglei Governor Philip Thon Leek dispatched
the Jonglei State Minister of Social Development, the
Commissioner for Peace, and two area MPs to the area to
negotiate a settlement. The SPLA detained the group
briefly before allowing them to meet with the White Army
and tribal leaders. The delegation warned the herders
that they risked losing their cattle if they continued to
fight, and the herders proposed that they move toward the
traditional Lou area, where they felt more secure, at
which time they would discuss disarmament.


5. (SBU) The SPLA reportedly renewed the fighting on or
about May 7 as the negotiations took place, and in the
ensuing combat an estimated 51 additional herders were
killed. Munitions exhausted, the White Army fighters
retreated, leaving cattle and families behind. They
later claimed that two tribal leaders sent back to
negotiate with the SPLA were shot and unknown parties
seized large numbers of cattle from the Nuer women who
were bringing the cattle back to Lou. For security
reasons, the UN withdrew its staff and NGOs from the
area. According to the most recent report on the
situation, Lou Nuer herders are moving through arid
country as their herds begin to suffer from lack of
water. The SPLA has stopped its pursuit of the Lou Nuer
and is now collecting cattle, which they reportedly
intend to return to the herders. The exact nature of the
fighting and the total number casualties remains unknown.

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The Significance
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6. (SBU) Gatkouth Duop Kuich, the MP from Waat, told CG
that he had not gotten a sympathetic hearing from either
the Minister for Cabinet Affairs Justin Yaac or Vice

KHARTOUM 00001169 002 OF 002


President Machar when he returned to Juba from Waat and
requested that the GoSS order the SPLA to desist from
further attempts at disarmament. Kuich claimed that
Machar told him that the SPLA must continue to press for
disarmament; Kuich pushed instead for a period of calm
during which the retreating herders could be provided
humanitarian assistance as a first step toward renewed
negotiations. He said that if the SPLA persists with
forced disarmament, the White Army would not easily give
up.


7. (SBU) There is a possibility that the conflict could
widen to include other groups. Holdout South Sudan
Defense Force (SSDF) militia commanded by Gordon Kong and
Thomas Mabior operate north of the Lou area and could
ostensibly attempt to provide ammunition to the White
Army to rally them to the SSDF side. Simon Gatwich, the
former SSDF Lou Nuer leader and now SPLA general, is
reportedly very unhappy with the course of events. Some
of his former SSDF fighters who followed him to the SPLA
remain encamped north of the Lou area, not yet integrated
into the SPLA, and theoretically could become involved as
well. Deputy SPLA Commander Paulino Matip, who brought
the bulk of the SSDF over to the SPLA, is also
displeased. Kuich claimed that Matip told him that if
the SPLA stops its activities, he would personally travel
north to help calm the situation.

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Comment
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8. (SBU) The recent fighting is part of a complicated
historical chain dating back to 1991, when Machar split
from the main body of the SPLM and, along with others,
armed the White Army to protect the Lou Nuer, who were
neglected by both the SPLA and Khartoum. The result was
a largely apolitical, but heavily armed tribal militia
that provided protection for cattle camps, but also
engaged in notorious cattle raiding against neighboring
groups, including their traditional rivals, the Dinka
Bor. Neither side is blameless in this long cycle of
violence, but the heavy-handed SPLA attempt to force
disarmament in an area that it has never controlled fully
certainly helped trigger the latest violence.


9. (SBU) The international community in Juba, including
the U.S., has used high-level contacts with the GoSS to
urge restraint and a return to negotiation before the
violence intensifies. We will continue to pursue this
outcome. End comment.

HUME