Southern Sudan: Cattle Rustling Season Precedes

UNCLAS KHARTOUM 000981 SIPDIS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ASEC SOCI MOPS SU SUBJECT: Southern Sudan: Cattle Rustling Season Precedes Rains in Jonglei REF: Khartoum 00482 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The end of dry-season migration in Jonglei has led to a series of cattle raids targeting herders throughout the state. Cattle rustling is common in Southern Sudan, especially at the end of the dry season when water is the most scarce and herds must travel the furthest. The SPLA has been unable to prevent these raids, and its recent attempts at disarmament have reportedly strengthened the ranks of Gordon Kong's South Sudan Defense Force (SSDF),which remains a threat to peace, stability, and the CPA. End Summary. -------------- A Resource Battle with an Ethnic Dimension -------------- ¶2. (U) Two Lou Nuer cattle herders are confirmed dead and there are unconfirmed reports of another 11 captured, with about 400 cattle stolen over the past two weeks. The SPLA said it would provide protection to the migrating Lou Nuer cattle herders as part of a peace deal following violent clashes in February (reftel). However, the SPLA has been unable to provide that protection due to problems with organization and capacity. ¶3. (U) The Lou Nuer are not the only victims of rustling in Jonglei, as all cattle herding groups in the region, including Dinka and Murle, have explained that intertribal, and even interclan, cattle raids are a fact of life. Cattle herders are unwilling to disarm largely because of a lack of confidence in the SPLA's ability to provide security, a general distrust of the SPLA, and because no one wants to be the first to disarm and leave themselves vulnerable to the other raiding groups. -------------- SPLA Limitations and SSDF Threats -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In separate meetings over the past week, officials in the Jonglei county of Twic East; the Minister of Culture Youth and Sports John Luk Jok, a Dinka from Jonglei; and Member of Parliament Gatkouth Kuich, a Nuer from Waat, have said that the SPLA does not have the capacity to secure the region. Jok explained that while there is a core group of good soldiers in the SPLA, most are undisciplined and unable to defeat the superior fighting forces of the raiding militia. Jok would like to see a smaller group of locally recruited and professionally trained SPLA soldiers enforce order. ¶5. (SBU) Both Minister Jok and MP Kuich separately explained that cattle raiders who do not want to be disarmed are joining the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF) that have declared with the Sudanese Armed Force (SAF) and are led by Gordon Kong. They both said that even the groups that had been disarmed are making their way to Malakal and being re-armed by SAF-supported militias. Jok believes the first priority of an effective SPLA would be to cut off this route to Malakal. Both officials also said they fear what this recruiting advantage will mean for the SSDF, which has already started several skirmishes in the past few weeks in Upper Nile (septel). Jok feels that it would be a serious CPA violation if the SAF continues to provide support to these groups, including arms, without controlling them and integrating them into the SAF. STEINFELD