Ethnic violence in South Sudan

{{Main|Sudanese nomadic conflicts}}

{{See also|Nomadic conflict|Cattle raiding}}

Members of the Murle and Lou Nuer ethnic groups are largely nomadic cattle herders. Cattle are used as food and are used as a store of wealth. It takes 20 cows to buy a bride if a young man hopes to marry, which encourages cattle raiding. Violence between the two groups goes back generations, exacerbated by tensions over land and water. The attacks often target an entire village, burning them in their round thatched huts. Militias frequently abduct children during cattle raids, who are then forcefully adopted into the tribe. This is seen as a method, notably among the Murle, to increase the numbers of the small minority group. In past generations, attackers used machetes and sticks. However, after decades of civil war, the region is awash with guns, and young men are now armed with high-powered weapons.{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-ethiopia-massacre-20160420-story.html|title=Why hundreds of people are dying over cattle in East Africa|work=Los Angeles Times|date=21 April 2016 |access-date=23 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161122100141/http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-ethiopia-massacre-20160420-story.html|archive-date=22 November 2016|url-status=live}} In 2017, local organizations said that more than 5,000 people had been killed since 2011 in cattle raids in South Sudan.{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/south-sudan-cattle-raids-170205090102703.html|title=Thousands killed in cattle raids since 2011|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=5 February 2017|date=5 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205120703/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/south-sudan-cattle-raids-170205090102703.html|archive-date=5 February 2017|url-status=live}}

The governing party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), and the army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), have been accused of being dominated by the Dinka. Many refer to the dominance of the Dinka as the "Dinkocracy".{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/south-sudan-teeters-brink-20131217131843385823.html|title=South Sudan teeters on the brink|date=17 December 2013|access-date=15 April 2017|work=Aljazeera|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170507000521/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/south-sudan-teeters-brink-20131217131843385823.html|archive-date=7 May 2017|url-status=live}} A Dinka lobbying group known as the "Jieng Council of Elders" is often accused of being behind hardline SPLM policies.{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/dinka-council-elders-welcomes-kiir's-decision-firing-ministers-allied-machar|title=Dinka council of elders welcomes Kiir's decision firing ministers allied to Machar|date=4 August 2016|access-date=9 March 2017|work=Radio Tamazuj|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170315021733/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/dinka-council-elders-welcomes-kiir%E2%80%99s-decision-firing-ministers-allied-machar|archive-date=15 March 2017|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article59719|title=Jieng Council of Elders caused "coup" in SPLM-IO: official|date=24 July 2015|access-date=9 March 2017|work=Sudan Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312044511/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article59719|archive-date=12 March 2017|url-status=live}} While the army used to attract men from across tribes, during the South Sudanese Civil War the SPLA came to be dominated by soldiers from the Dinka stronghold of Bahr el Ghazal, home region of President Salva Kiir and the Chief of Staff.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/20/opinion/south-sudan-cannot-be-allowed-to-collapse.html?_r=1|title=South Sudan must not be allowed to collapse|date=20 January 2017|work=New York Times|access-date=22 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830062448/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/20/opinion/south-sudan-cannot-be-allowed-to-collapse.html?_r=1|archive-date=30 August 2017|url-status=live}} The army was often referred to within the country as "the Dinka army". Many of the worst atrocities committed were blamed on a group known as "Mathiang Anyoor" (Brown Caterpillar) or "Dot Ke Beny" (Rescue the President), a Dinka militia formed to protect Kiir and Paul Malong Awan, though the SPLA claims that it is just another battalion.{{cite web|url=http://africanarguments.org/2016/07/11/whos-behind-south-sudans-return-to-fighting/|title=Who's behind South Sudan's return to fighting?|date=11 July 2016|access-date=26 January 2017|work=African arguments|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160712131454/http://africanarguments.org/2016/07/11/whos-behind-south-sudans-return-to-fighting/|archive-date=12 July 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39209280|title=South Sudan conflict: 'Soldiers will kill you for no reason in Yei'|first=Alastair|last=Leithead|date=9 March 2017|access-date=9 March 2017|work=BBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309030451/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39209280|archive-date=9 March 2017|url-status=live}}

{{see also|George Athor's rebellion}}

The South Sudan Democratic Movement (SSDM) is a rebel group founded in 2010 by George Athor after he lost a contested election. The group also incorporates and supports other factions as part of a broad coalition of those who complain of neglect by the Dinka dominated SPLA. This notably includes those composed of ethnic minorities such as the Murle people who lead the Cobra faction and the Shilluk people who lead the Upper Nile Faction. In a strategy of co-option known as "big tent", the government often buys off community militia and pardons its leaders.{{cite web|url=http://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2016/10/12/south-sudans-never-ending-war|title=South Sudan's never ending war.|date=12 October 2016|publisher=Irinnews|access-date=22 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230060215/https://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2016/10/12/south-sudans-never-ending-war|archive-date=30 December 2016|url-status=live}} Others call the use of rebellion to receive public office as "bad culture"{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/militant-faction-vows-again-to-fight-south-sudan-government/3527442.html|title=Militant Faction Vows Again to Fight S. Sudan Government|date=27 September 2016|publisher=Voice of America|access-date=29 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161102002301/http://www.voanews.com/a/militant-faction-vows-again-to-fight-south-sudan-government/3527442.html|archive-date=2 November 2016|url-status=live}} and an incentive to rebel.{{cite web|url=http://bostonreview.net/world/mahmood-mamdani-south-sudan-failed-transition|title=Who's to blame in South Sudan?|date=28 June 2016|publisher=Boston Review|access-date=22 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116164444/http://bostonreview.net/world/mahmood-mamdani-south-sudan-failed-transition|archive-date=16 January 2017|url-status=live}}

On 18 August 2011, an attack in Uror County, northern Jonglei was reportedly launched by Murle tribesmen after armed groups infiltrated into the Peiri and Pulchuol Districts (Payams) at about 5 a.m. The attack is believed to have been a revenge operation against the Lou Nuer tribe after an attack on the Murle the previous June in Pibor County. At least 640 people were killed and the attackers burned down over 3,400 houses and the hospital run by Médecins Sans Frontières. An initial estimate showed that 38,000 heads of cattle were stolen and 208 children were kidnapped.{{cite web|title=Hundreds dead' in South Sudan cattle raids |url=http://www.sudantribune.com/Hundreds-killed-in-South-Sudan-s,39887 |publisher=Sudan Tribune |access-date=23 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829155651/http://www.sudantribune.com/Hundreds-killed-in-South-Sudan-s,39887 |archive-date=29 August 2011}}

File:Nuer White Army Flag.svg

{{Main|Pibor massacre}}

By 25 December 2011, the Nuer White Army released a statement stating its intent to "wipe out the entire Murle tribe off the face of the earth as the only solution to guarantee long-term security of Nuer's cattle" and attack United Nations and SPLA personnel if they interfered.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-27/united-nations-urges-south-sudan-to-help-avert-possible-attack.html|title=United Nations Urges South Sudan to Help Avert Possible Attack|first=Jared|last=Ferrie|date=27 December 2011|access-date=27 December 2011|work=Bloomberg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214130705/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-27/united-nations-urges-south-sudan-to-help-avert-possible-attack.html|archive-date=14 February 2012|url-status=live}} The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) deployed peacekeepers to Pibor on 30 December in an effort to avert an attack by 6,000 armed Lou Nuer youths. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UNMISS head Hilde Johnson called on Lou Nuer and Murle fighters alike to lay down their arms and allow the government of South Sudan to work with them toward a lasting solution to the crisis.{{cite news|url=https://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40863&Cr=south+sudan&Cr1=|agency=UN News Service|title=South Sudan: UN blue helmets deploy to deter ethnic violence in key town|date=30 December 2011|access-date=30 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103170159/http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40863&Cr=south+sudan&Cr1=|archive-date=3 January 2012|url-status=live}} Activists, including Minority Rights Group International, warned of genocide in the conflict.{{cite news|title=Activists warn of "genocide" in S.Sudan's Jonglei conflict |url=http://www.sudantribune.com/Activists-warn-of-genocide-in-S,41011 |work=Sudan Tribune |date=16 December 2011 |access-date=2 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229111823/https://www.sudantribune.com/Activists-warn-of-genocide-in-S,41011 |archive-date=29 December 2011}}

At 3 pm on 31 December, between 3–6,000 Lou Nuer tribesmen attacked a part of Pibor not protected by the UN peacekeepers.{{cite news|title=BREAKING NEWS: Lou-Nuer armed youth enter Pibor town |url=http://www.sudantribune.com/BREAKING-NEWS-Lou-Nuer-armed-youth,41143 |access-date=1 January 2012 |newspaper=Sudan Tribune |date=31 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111231170544/http://www.sudantribune.com/BREAKING-NEWS-Lou-Nuer-armed-youth,41143 |archive-date=31 December 2011}}{{cite news|last=Kushkush|first=Isma'il|title=Report: Fighters attack South Sudan town despite presence of U.N. peacekeepers|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/01/world/africa/south-sudan-violence/?hpt=wo_c2|access-date=1 January 2012|newspaper=CNN|date=1 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309161830/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/01/01/world/africa/south-sudan-violence/?hpt=wo_c2|archive-date=9 March 2012|url-status=live}} Houses were reported to have been set on fire and much of the town, including the airport and main hospital, were occupied. The Lou Nuer were said to have pursued members of the Murle who were fleeing southwards.{{cite news|title=South Sudan 'sends more troops' to strife-torn town Pibor|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16377824|access-date=1 January 2012|newspaper=BBC News|date=1 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101175110/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16377824|archive-date=1 January 2012|url-status=live}} The South Sudanese government promised to send more army personnel and 2,000 police to the town to reinforce the 800 troops already there.{{cite news|title=MSF fears for South Sudan staff caught in Pibor violence|url=http://www.portalangop.co.ao/motix/en_us/noticias/africa/2012/0/52/MSF-fears-for-South-Sudan-staff-caught-Pibor-violence,b8ebc0aa-d586-430b-82cb-3761c85e3c0b.html|access-date=1 January 2012|newspaper=Angola Press|date=1 January 2012}} The healthcare charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said that it lost contact with 130 of its staff who were forced to flee into the bush due to the attack. MSF said that a hospital and two outreach clinics were overrun, with some reports stating that the hospital had been set on fire.{{cite news|last=Squires|first=Nick|title=Fears for MSF staff after South Sudan tribal clashes|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/south-sudan/8987065/Fears-for-MSF-staff-after-South-Sudan-tribal-clashes.html|access-date=2 January 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=2 January 2012|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103044242/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/south-sudan/8987065/Fears-for-MSF-staff-after-South-Sudan-tribal-clashes.html|archive-date=3 January 2012|url-status=live}} Looting was said to have taken place at MSF facilities.

By 2 January, the majority of the Lou Nuer forces were said to have left Pibor and started to move to the southeast with a UN spokesman saying they were "almost certainly looking for cattle".{{cite news|title=UN warns South Sudanese to flee deadly ethnic vendetta|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16381579|access-date=2 January 2012|work=BBC News|date=2 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102085847/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16381579|archive-date=2 January 2012|url-status=live}} The UN said that it had successfully held the main part of Pibor alongside South Sudanese army troops. The UN was advising people in the area to "disperse into the bush for their safety". Estimates for the number of displaced ranged up to 50,000, and more than 30 were killed with as many as 80 left injured. The SPLA dispatched 3,000 soldiers and 800 police to support the government's garrison in Pibor.{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/01/201212101840599359.html|agency=Al Jazeera|date=2 January 2012|access-date=2 January 2012|title=Thousands flee South Sudan tribal conflict|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102152458/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/01/201212101840599359.html|archive-date=2 January 2012|url-status=live}} On 5 January, Joshua Konyi, the commissioner of Pibor County and a Murle, estimated that 2,182 women and children and 959 men were killed, 1,293 children were abducted, and 375,186 cows were stolen.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/world/africa/in-south-sudan-massacre-of-3000-is-reported.html?_r=1&ref=global-home|title=In South Sudan, Massacre of 3,000 is reported|last=Gettleman|first=Jeffrey|date=5 January 2012|access-date=6 January 2012|agency=New York Times|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160202140655/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/world/africa/in-south-sudan-massacre-of-3000-is-reported.html?_r=1&ref=global-home|archive-date=2 February 2016|url-status=live}} The United Nations estimated a total death toll of 900 between December 2011 and February 2012 as a result of the Nuer-Murle clashes, prior to the South Sudanese government's disarmament campaign in March.{{cite book|title=World Report 2013: South Sudan (Events of 2012)|chapter=World Report 2013: South Sudan |date=10 January 2013 |chapter-url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/south-sudan|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=18 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427053549/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/south-sudan|archive-date=27 April 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://unmiss.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/june_2012_jonglei_report.pdf|title=Incidents of intercommunal violence in Jonglei state|publisher=UNMISS|access-date=23 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124024632/https://unmiss.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/june_2012_jonglei_report.pdf|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live}}

A peace deal was signed in May 2012 by representatives of six ethnic communities in Jonglei state.{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article42504|title=President Kiir witnesses signing of Jonglei peace deal|date=5 May 2012|access-date=21 January 2017|work=Sudan Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002226/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article42504|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=live}}

In February 2013, an attack by a group of armed Murle youth killed more than 100 civilians at Walgak{{cite web|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article45533|title=Jonglei: MSF treats civilians wounded in Akobo county attack|publisher=Sudan Tribune|access-date=21 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002924/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article45533|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=live}} and 14 SPLA soldiers.{{cite web|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article45461|title=Jonglei: Hundreds feared dead or missing in Akobo county attack|publisher=Sudan Tribune|access-date=21 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002229/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article45461|archive-date=2 February 2017|url-status=live}}

The Greater Pibor Forces split off from the Cobra Faction, which had signed a peace agreement with the government. They joined opposition forces and one of their disagreements with the government was the alleged encouragement of the Murle, as a method of divide and rule, to fight against Nuer groups in Jonglei, as some groups such as the Nuer White Army have fought against the government.{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article53980|title=Murle faction announces defection to S. Sudan rebels|publisher=Sudan Tribune|access-date=18 January 2017|date=14 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830062940/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article53980|archive-date=30 August 2017|url-status=live}}

On 15 April 2016, Murle fighters in South Sudan crossed over to the Jikawo and Lare areas of the Gambela Region (which hosts about 300,000 South Sudanese refugees) in Ethiopia and killed at least 208 people, stole 2,000 cattle and kidnapped at least 108 women and children from the Nuer tribe.{{cite news|last1=Reporters|first1=The Telegraph|title=Armed men massacre 140 civilians in Ethiopia cross-border raid|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/17/armed-men-massacre-140-civilians-in-ethiopia-cross-border-raid/|access-date=18 April 2016|date=17 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417151856/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/17/armed-men-massacre-140-civilians-in-ethiopia-cross-border-raid/|archive-date=17 April 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Ethiopia army seeks to rescue Gambella's abducted children|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36071090|access-date=18 April 2016|work=BBC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419033157/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-36071090|archive-date=19 April 2016|url-status=live}} Ethiopian troops killed about 60 gunmen and crossed over the border with the South Sudanese government's permission to track the kidnappers in what some felt is the spilling over of fighting into Ethiopia.{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/africa/2016/04/ethiopia-attack-wife-child-ran-160422164613438.html|title=Ethiopia attack: 'I took my wife and child and ran'|publisher=aljazeera|access-date=18 July 2016|date=22 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720053212/http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/africa/2016/04/ethiopia-attack-wife-child-ran-160422164613438.html|archive-date=20 July 2016|url-status=live}} By 2017, about 100 children had been retrieved.

In March 2017, about 1,000 Murle gunmen from Boma State raided the Gambela Region in Ethiopia and abducted 43 children. They were pursued by the Ethiopian military.{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/ethiopia-reports-deadly-raid-gunmen-south-sudan-170315130515870.html|title=Ethiopia reports deadly raid by gunmen from South Sudan|publisher=aljazeera|access-date=17 March 2017|date=15 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317012622/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/ethiopia-reports-deadly-raid-gunmen-south-sudan-170315130515870.html|archive-date=17 March 2017|url-status=live}}

In February 2020 in Jonglei, over 200 women and children were believed to have been abducted.{{cite news|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25731&LangID=E|title=South Sudan: To achieve lasting peace, localized violence must end, says Bachelet|publisher=United Nations|access-date=1 June 2021|date=20 March 2020}} At least 287 people were killed in Murle-Nuer clashes starting on 16 May 2020. As part of the deal to end the civil war, the number of states was reduced back to 10. However, there were disagreements over who should be the new governors and, even though the deal decreased political violence, the spike in inter-communal violence was attributed to the resulting power vacuum.{{cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/hundreds-killed-inter-communal-clashes-south-sudan-200520165329158.html|title=Hundreds killed in inter-communal clashes in South Sudan|publisher=al jazeera|access-date=9 June 2020|date=20 May 2020}}{{cite news|url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news-feature/2021/2/8/floods-fighting-famine-south-sudan-crisis|title=Floods, fighting, famine: Inside South Sudan's triple crisis|publisher=The New Humanitarian|access-date=1 June 2021|date=8 February 2021}}

{{More information|Nuer massacre}}

During the Second Sudanese Civil War, several factions split from the SPLA often along ethnic lines and were funded and armed by Khartoum.{{cite news|url=http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2048788,00.html|title=Deadly clashes on South Sudan's path to freedom|publisher=Time|access-date=21 December 2013|date=12 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224154623/http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2048788,00.html|archive-date=24 December 2013|url-status=live}} The most notable was SPLA-Nasir founded in 1991 by Riek Machar as an attempt by the Nuer to replace John Garang.

The South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLA) was formed in 1999 as a Nuer-dominated faction in the civil war.

{{Main|Bor massacre}}

As a result of the infighting, more southerners died at each other's hands than were killed by northerners during the war. In the Bor massacre in 1991, an estimated 2000 civilians were killed by SPLA-Nasir and the Nuer White Army and another estimated 25,000 died from the resulting famine in the following years.{{cite news|url=http://www.thelondoneveningpost.com/riek-machar-breaks-down-in-tears-as-he-admits-to-1991-bor-massacres/|title=Riek Machar in tears as he admits to 1991 Bor massacres|publisher=thelondoneveningpost.com|access-date=20 December 2013|date=16 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220233159/http://www.thelondoneveningpost.com/riek-machar-breaks-down-in-tears-as-he-admits-to-1991-bor-massacres/|archive-date=20 December 2013|url-status=live}}

File:Flag of SSLM.svg

In April 2011, The SSLA, now led by Peter Gadet, announces its formation as a rebel army fighting against the main SPLA forces. In 2011, SSLA clash with tribal cattle herders in Warrap State, south of Abyei. Southern authorities accuse the rebels of being backed by al-Bashir's Khartoum government, and say that the rebels are mobilizing the Misseriya against the SPLA in Unity State.{{cite news|last=Richmond|first=Matthew|title=Southern Sudan Clashes in Warrap State Kill 72, Army Says|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-10/southern-sudan-clashes-in-warrap-state-kill-72-army-says.html|access-date=7 January 2012|newspaper=BusinessWeek|date=10 May 2011}}{{dead link|date=April 2023|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} To put down the rebellion, it was alleged that the SPLA set fire to over 7,000 homes in Unity state in May 2011.{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article39010|title=SPLA set fire to over 7,000 homes in Unity says Mayom county official|publisher=Sudan Tribune|access-date=17 January 2017|date=24 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118135914/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article39010|archive-date=18 January 2017|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Juba Nuer Massacre}}

In 2013, after a year of escalating changes in government and in the party, including the dismissal of Vice-President Riek Machar and the entire cabinet in June, fighting between Nuer and Dinka SPLA soldiers broke out in Juba on December, igniting the South Sudanese Civil War. A rebellion rapidly spread around the country, with defected troops loyal to Machar and the SSLA taking over Bentiu, Malakal and Bor.{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/south-sudan-president-says-coup-repulsed-124616535.html|title=South Sudan president says coup has been repulsed|date=16 December 2013|work=Yahoo News|access-date=26 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026151044/http://news.yahoo.com/south-sudan-president-says-coup-repulsed-124616535.html|archive-date=26 October 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite news|work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25480178 |title=South Sudan rebel Riek Machar 'controls key state' |date=22 December 2013 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202084948/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25480178 |archive-date=2 December 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}

Immediately after the initial mutiny in Juba, Nuer soldiers, overpowered and on the run, made off toward Terekeka, north of Juba, leaving no Nuer soldiers left in the city. SPLM Dinka troops, led by Lieutenant General Marial Chanuong,{{cite news| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-security-un-idUSKBN18K2RH| work=Reuters| title=U.S., Britain, U.N. wary of South Sudan ceasefire announcement| date=24 May 2017| access-date=15 June 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612064528/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-security-un-idUSKBN18K2RH| archive-date=12 June 2017| url-status=live| df=dmy-all}} were assisted by guides in house to house searches for Nuers in Nuer areas of the Juba. In the Gudele neighborhood, about 200–400 Nuer men were rounded up in to a room in a police station and were shot at through the windows over two days if the soldiers noticed signs of life.{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian |title=South Sudan, the state that fell apart in a week |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/south-sudan-state-that-fell-apart-in-a-week |date=23 December 2013 |access-date=11 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170104091536/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/23/south-sudan-state-that-fell-apart-in-a-week |archive-date=4 January 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}} There were about 12 survivors.{{cite web|publisher=BBC |first=James |last=Copnall |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25502457 |title=South Sudan sees 'mass ethnic killings' |date=24 December 2013 |access-date=24 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224074035/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25502457 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}{{cite web|publisher=Ratio Tamazuj |title=UN rights chief zeroes on Gudele massacre |url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/un-rights-chief-zeroes-gudele-massacre| access-date=11 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226151224/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/un-rights-chief-zeroes-gudele-massacre |archive-date=26 February 2014 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}} An African Union report cited Nuers being tortured, such as being forced to eat human flesh and blood and to jump into fires.{{cite news|url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/10/28/report-mass-graves-rape-cannibalism-in-south-sudan.html|title=Mass Graves, Rape Cannibalism in South Sudan|date=28 October 2015|access-date=26 January 2017|work=Al Jazeera|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504061011/http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/10/28/report-mass-graves-rape-cannibalism-in-south-sudan.html|archive-date=4 May 2017|url-status=live}} Official death toll has not been released as Human Rights Watch has noted the South Sudan government troops had blocked access and were heavily guarding Gudele and other affected, now abandoned suburbs of Juba.{{cite work|publisher=Human Rights Watch |title=Dispatches: the truth on limits: Juba, South Sudan |date=18 February 2014 |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/18/dispatches-truth-limits-juba-south-sudan |access-date=11 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113163030/https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/18/dispatches-truth-limits-juba-south-sudan |archive-date=13 January 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}} The Guardian report also reported that 21 Nuer youths as well as three women were killed in two other incidents while Human Rights Watch cites eyewitness accounts of truck loads of bodies carried to undisclosed site on 18 December 2013.{{cite work|publisher=Human Rights Watch |title=South Sudan: ethnic targeting, widespread killings |date=16 January 2014 |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/01/16/south-sudan-ethnic-targeting-widespread-killings |access-date=6 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161027030838/https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/01/16/south-sudan-ethnic-targeting-widespread-killings |archive-date=27 October 2016 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}} Government officials have not announced a list of the dead or the location of the bodies and have denied knowledge of any killings. Much of the killings were carried out by Mathiang Anyoor. Similar door to door searches of members of the Nuer ethnicity have been reported in the government held capital city of the Upper Nile State, Malakal.{{cite news|publisher=AFP |url=https://news.yahoo.com/sudan-troops-39-door-door-39-seized-town-215351156.html |title=Sudan troops go 'door to door' in seized town |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126065608/http://news.yahoo.com/sudan-troops-39-door-door-39-seized-town-215351156.html |archive-date=26 January 2014}}

Estimates for the death toll range as high as 15,000 to 20,000.{{cite web|url=https://dornsife.usc.edu/cagr/2024/02/22/anatomy-of-the-largest-state-massacre-in-south-sudan/|title=Anatomy of the Largest State Massacre in South Sudan|date=22 February 2024|work=USC Dornsife Center for Advanced Genocide Research|access-date=30 May 2024}}

{{Main|2014 Bentiu massacre}}

During the South Sudanese Civil War, forces identified by the UN as SPLM-IO massacred about 200 mostly non-Nuer civilians in April 2014.

{{Main|2014 retreat from Western Bahr el Ghazal}}

On 25 April 2014, ethnic tensions between Nuer trainees of the SPLA and Dinka civilians escalated in Mapel, at the time part of Western Bahr el Ghazal, resulting in altercations and murders. In response, Dinka soldiers of the SPLA's 5th Division, led by Bak Akoon Bak, massacred their Nuer comrades at the local training center, killing between 40 and 200 Nuer. The surviving Nuer soldiers fled into the bush, with some joining local SPLM-IO rebels or starting to escape northward. Joined by hundreds of other Nuer deserters from Wau and later Northern Bahr el Ghazal, the Nuer deserters marched all the way to Sudan to escape ethnic prosecution and loyalist SPLA forces.{{sfnp|Small Arms Survey|2014}}

As early as 1963, during the First Sudanese Civil War, Khartoum began arming the Murle tribe, traditional enemies of both Dinka and Nuer, to fight the southern rebellion. Sometimes, whole tribal territories became affiliated with one side or the other, and the vicious north–south war became a defining factor in relations between tribes, infusing old hostilities with a new, political dimension. With the peace deal in 2005, tribal militias chose to either be absorbed into the SPLA or head north and join the armed forces there. Most chose to join their former SPLA enemies as a matter of survival. Others, like fighters from the Murle tribe, chose to join the northern army. Today, there are many Murle army officers in Khartoum, and they say the tribe is being punished for that.

File:Greater Pibor Administrative Area.svg (highlighted) created as part of a peace agreement between the government and the largely Murle rebel group, the Cobra Faction, in 2014.]]

File:Flag of the South Sudan Defence Army - Cobra Faction.svg and then by Khalid Boutros.]]

David Yau Yau, led a Murle dominated faction of the South Sudan Democratic Movement (SSDM) known as the Cobra faction against the government in 2010. He signed a ceasefire with the GoSS in June 2011, which integrated him and his militia with the SPLA. However, he defected again in April 2012 citing SPLA abuses in Pibor county in the March–October 2012 disarmament campaign that followed the Murle-Nuer clashes, called Operation Restore Hope. He now claimed to be fighting for a separate state for the Murle.{{cite web|url=http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/de/facts-figures/south-sudan/armed-groups/southern-dissident-militias/ssdma-cobra-faction.html|title=SSDM/A-Cobra faction|date=15 March 2016|access-date=13 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305005848/http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/de/facts-figures/south-sudan/armed-groups/southern-dissident-militias/ssdma-cobra-faction.html|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live}} During the civil war in January 2014, the government signed a peace agreement called the Greater Pibor Administrative Area peace agreement with the Cobra Faction which created in May that year the semi-autonomous area called the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) to increase the minority populations within its borders and David Yau Yau was appointed chief administrator, equivalent to state governor.{{cite web| url=http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/working-papers/HSBA-WP35-Greater-Pibor.pdf| title=Real but Fragile:The Greater Pibor Administrative Area| work=small arms survey| date=March 2015| access-date=22 October 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305072132/http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/working-papers/HSBA-WP35-Greater-Pibor.pdf| archive-date=5 March 2016| url-status=live| df=dmy-all}}{{cite news|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/south-sudan-pibor-county-jonglei-/1965423.html|title=South Sudan President Gives 'Marginalized' Pibor County Special Status|publisher=Voice of America|date=25 July 2014|access-date=14 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814093416/http://www.voanews.com/a/south-sudan-pibor-county-jonglei-/1965423.html|archive-date=14 August 2016|url-status=live}} Not all Cobra faction general were satisfied and a splinter group called the Greater Pibor Forces formed alleging that the SPLM were inciting the Murle to attack the Lou Nuer as a form of divide and rule. Further, on Christmas Eve 2015, Salvar Kiir announced an increase in the number of states from 10 to 28 and then, five days later, swore in all new governors appointed by him.{{cite web|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/01/22/south-sudan-next-civil-war-is-starting-shilluk-army/|title=South Sudan's next civil war is starting|publisher=foreignpolicy.com|access-date=23 January 2016|date=22 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124025300/http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/01/22/south-sudan-next-civil-war-is-starting-shilluk-army/|archive-date=24 January 2016|url-status=live}} The new borders give Kiir's Dinkas a majority in strategic locations. This replaced the GPAA with Boma State and replaced Yau Yau with Baba Medan Konya, angering the Cobra faction. In September 2016, the Cobra faction, now led by Khalid Boutros declared war against the government but in March 2017, Boutros dissolved the faction to incorporate it into the broader faction of the National Salvation Front led by Thomas Cirillo.{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/ssdm-cobra-faction-dissolved-merged-cirillos-rebels|title=SSDM-Cobra Faction dissolved, merged with Cirillo's rebels|date=9 March 2017|access-date=9 March 2017|work=Radio Tamazuj|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170309183844/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/ssdm-cobra-faction-dissolved-merged-cirillos-rebels|archive-date=9 March 2017|url-status=dead}}

Cattle raids between Dinka from the Dinka majority Jonglei state and the Murle from the Murle majority Boma State led to a peace agreement between both states on 5 December 2016 and to the formation of a joint police force recruited from the states of Jonglei, Boma and Bieh. However attacks across states continued.{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article61174|title=21 killed, 5 children abducted in Jonglei state: officials|date=20 December 2016|access-date=12 March 2017|work=Sudan Tribune|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313124653/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article61174|archive-date=13 March 2017|url-status=live}} In March, armed youth and soldiers from Jonglei state attacked and captured Kotchar, in Boma state.{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/boma-deputy-governor-says-gunmen-jonglei-captured-kotchar|title=Boma deputy governor says gunmen from Jonglei captured Kotchar|date=8 March 2017|access-date=12 March 2017|work=Radio Tamazuj|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313133942/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/boma-deputy-governor-says-gunmen-jonglei-captured-kotchar|archive-date=13 March 2017|url-status=dead}} Boma state officials, as well as Khalid Boutros of the Cobra faction, accuse the SPLA of supporting the attacks on Boma state.{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/gunmen-attack-boma-villages-displaced-residents-official|title=Gunmen attack on Boma villages displaced residents: Official|date=8 March 2017|access-date=12 March 2017|work=Radio Tamazuj|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313151033/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/gunmen-attack-boma-villages-displaced-residents-official|archive-date=13 March 2017|url-status=dead}} In November 2017, Murle gunmen attacked a Dinka village of Duk Payuel county in Jonglei, killing 45 people and abducting about 60 women and children.{{cite news|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/horrific-killing-innocent-civilians-south-sudan-condemned-un-special|title="Horrific killing of innocent civilians" in South Sudan condemned by UN Special Representative|date=29 November 2017|access-date=1 December 2017|work=Relief Web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202052540/https://reliefweb.int/report/south-sudan/horrific-killing-innocent-civilians-south-sudan-condemned-un-special|archive-date=2 December 2017|url-status=live}}

Beginning in early 2020, Lou Nuer tribal militants launched attacks against the Murle in the Pibor region, killing many and causing thousands to flee into the bush or to seek shelter at a UNMISS base at Pibor. These attacks were possibly motivated by cases of cattle-rustling and desire for revenge for earlier clashes and massacres.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2020/03/17/south-sudan-clashes-jonglei-pibor|title=Thousands flee clashes in South Sudan|date=17 March 2020|website=The New Humanitarian}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/05/20/south-sudan-clashes/ |title=Three Aid Workers Killed as South Sudan Clashes Leave 'Many' Dead |work=Defense Post |date=20 May 2020 |access-date=28 July 2020}} In May, Murle militants responded by attacking and destroying Lou Nuer villages in the area, allegedly massacring up to 211 people. The violence was centered at the town of Pieri, where three aid workers were murdered amid the fighting. UNMISS promptly deployed more peacekeepers to the area to restore order. Another wave of violence erupted on 15 June, as Lou Nuer forces allied with Dinka Bor militants to target the Murle. In course of multiple raids and heavy fighting, several settlements were destroyed or damaged, thousands were forced to flee, and large numbers of cattle were stolen. Uniformed soldiers were spotted during the clashes, suggesting that army or ex-rebel forces had joined the irregular militias. President Kiir responded by forming a high-level committee tasked with bringing the situation in Jonglei under control.{{cite web|url=https://www.thedefensepost.com/2020/06/26/fighting-south-sudan/ |title=Thousands Flee 'Intense Fighting' in Eastern South Sudan: MSF |work=Defense Post |date=26 June 2020 |access-date=28 July 2020}}

{{main|2022 Jonglei attacks}}

In January 2022, Murle militias attacked Bor Dinka villages in Jonglei, killing dozens and destroying a number of villages.{{Cite web |title=Children among the dozens killed in South Sudan violence |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/1/25/dozens-including-children-killed-in-south-sudan-violence |access-date=2023-08-30 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}

Many from the Shilluk people contend that the Dinka as well as the Dinka and Nuer soldiers from the Sudan People's Liberation Army committed abuses in an attempt to disarm them in the summer of 2010. The SPLA burned scores of villages, raped hundreds of women and girls and killed an untold number of civilians in the Shilluk Kingdom. Over 10,000 people were displaced in the midst of the rainy season and sent fleeing into the forest, often naked, without bedding, shelter or food, with many children dying from hunger and cold. Civilians alleging torture by the SPLA claim fingernails being torn out, burning plastic bags dripped on children to make their parents hand over weapons and villagers burned alive in their huts if rebels were suspected of spending the night there. The United Nations Human Rights Council reported many of these violations, and the frustrated director of one Juba-based international aid agency called them "human rights abuses off the Richter scale".

{{See also|Tiger Faction New Forces}}

John Uliny from the Shilluk people lead the Upper Nile faction of the South Sudan Democratic Movement in rebellion. In March 2011, in clashes between the Uliny's Upper Nile faction and the SPLA North of Malakal, the SSDM claimed that the SPLA killed 168 civilians and named six villages that the SPLA burned down.{{cite news|last=Tribune |first=Sudan |title=South Sudan army clashes with rebel group, over 100 dead |url=http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-army-clashes-with,38227 |access-date=5 January 2012 |newspaper=Sudan Tribune |date=8 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129145059/https://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-army-clashes-with,38227 |archive-date=29 November 2011}} Human Rights Watch later confirmed that over 60 ethnic Shilluk were killed, and more than 7,000 displaced. The official United Nations report counted 62 dead, 70 injured and 7,625 displaced, but how many people were actually killed is unknown.{{cite news|last=HRW|first=WN|title=Southern Sudan: Abuses on Both Sides in Upper Nile Clashes|url=http://article.wn.com/view/2011/04/20/Southern_Sudan_Abuses_on_Both_Sides_in_Upper_Nile_Clashes/|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=World News|date=19 April 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513213625/http://article.wn.com/view/2011/04/20/Southern_Sudan_Abuses_on_Both_Sides_in_Upper_Nile_Clashes/|archive-date=13 May 2011|url-status=live}} During the civil war, in February 2016, 18 people were killed, including two Médecins Sans Frontières staff, in fighting between Shilluk and Dinka youths at a "protection of civilian" (POC) site, which are often divided by ethnic groups to prevent fighting.{{cite web|last1=Dumo|first1=Denis|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-unrest-idUSKCN0VR1FU?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews|title=Fighting at U.N. compound in South Sudan kills 18: MSF|website=Reuters|date=19 February 2016|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620184133/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-unrest-idUSKCN0VR1FU?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews|archive-date=20 June 2017|url-status=live}}

Uliny entered into peace talks and accepted an amnesty by the government in 2013. However, during the civil war, after Kiir's floated the idea of carving new states which would give Kiir's Dinkas strong majorities and which the Shilluk felt would carve up their homeland, Uliny switched sides to fight with SPLO-IO in April 2015. His forces were now known as the "Agwelek" army. On 16 May 2015, the Agwelek forces and elements of the SPLM-IO captured Upper Nile's capital, Malakal, as well as Anakdiar and areas around Fashoda.{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/s-sudan-rebels-johnson-olony-our-side|title=S Sudan rebels: Johnson Olony is on our side|publisher=radiotamazuj.org|access-date=23 June 2015|date=17 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623121013/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/s-sudan-rebels-johnson-olony-our-side|archive-date=23 June 2015|url-status=dead}} The group said they want to run their affairs independently from others in Upper Nile State, and SPLM-IO backed away from claims that it is in charge of Olony's group and stated that Olony's interests simply coincides with theirs.{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/machar-backs-away-claim-loyalty-independent-shilluk-forces|title=Machar backs away from claim to loyalty of 'independent' Shilluk forces|publisher=radiotamazuj.org|access-date=23 June 2015|date=18 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623142055/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/machar-backs-away-claim-loyalty-independent-shilluk-forces|archive-date=23 June 2015|url-status=dead}} SPLM-IO said they understood the feeling from the Shilluk community that they wanted a level of independence and that that was the reason the SPLM-IO last year created Fashoda state for the Shilluk kingdom and appointed Tijwog Aguet, a Shilluk, as governor.{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article55014|title=Johnson Olony's forces prefer independent command in Upper Nile state|publisher=sudantribune.com|access-date=23 June 2015|date=17 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230173008/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article55014|archive-date=30 December 2016|url-status=live}}

As the predominantly Shilluk Agwelek forces joined, in July 2016, with the SPLM-IO, which entered the peace agreement with the government, some Shilluk felt dissatisfied. After the establishment of the new states, a new group made up of mostly Shilluk formed the "Tiger Faction New Forces" (TFNF), led by General Yoanes Okij, alleging that the new states gives power over Shilluk lands to the Dinka.{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article56894|title=New rebel group formed in South Sudan against the creation of 28 states|publisher=Sudan Tribune|access-date=15 December 2016|date=30 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220183651/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article56894|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}} They rejected joining the SPLM-IO or the peace agreement and called for the restoration of the original 1956 borders of the Shilluk territories.{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?iframe&page=imprimable&id_article=58273|title=Tiger faction of ethnic Shilluk kingdom dismisses integration into SPLM-IO|publisher=Sudan Tribune|access-date=15 December 2016|date=11 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220183322/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?iframe&page=imprimable&id_article=58273|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}} In September 2016, Shilluk politician Lam Akol, leader of the largest opposition party, Democratic Change, announced a new faction called the National Democratic Movement (NDM) to overthrow Kiir.{{cite web|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/lam-akol-forms-rebel-movement-fight-south-sudan-government|title=Lam Akol forms rebel movement to fight South Sudan government|date=27 September 2016|publisher=Radio Tamazuj|access-date=18 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314231434/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/lam-akol-forms-rebel-movement-fight-south-sudan-government|archive-date=14 March 2017|url-status=dead}} Yohanis Okiech then joined the predominantly Shilluk NDM{{cite web|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article61355|title=S.Sudan rebel commander says rivalry undermines struggle|date=10 January 2017|publisher=Sudan Tribune|access-date=18 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119053623/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article61355|archive-date=19 January 2017|url-status=live}} as deputy chief of general staff. In January 2017, Olony's forces working for SPLM-IO ambushed and killed Yohanis Okiech.{{cite web|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article61329|title=Another rebel commander shot dead in war-torn South Sudan|date=7 January 2017|publisher=Sudan Tribune|access-date=18 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110192433/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article61329|archive-date=10 January 2017|url-status=live}}

In the Upper Nile region, much of the fighting in 2016–17 was between the SPLA and the SPLA-IO allied Upper Nile faction of Uliny. During this fighting, Shilluk in Wau Shilluk were forced from their homes and Yasmin Sooka, chairwoman of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, claimed that the government was engaging in "social engineering" after it transported 2,000 mostly Dinka people to the abandoned areas.{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-15/un-warns-of-south-sudan-27social-engineering27/8354958|title=South Sudan: UN warns of 'social engineering' amid looming threat of genocide|work=ABC news|access-date=17 March 2017|date=14 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170317081414/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-15/un-warns-of-south-sudan-27social-engineering27/8354958|archive-date=17 March 2017|url-status=live}} The king of the Shilluk Kingdom, Kwongo Dak Padiet, claimed his people were at risk of physical and cultural extinction.{{cite news|url=http://www.startribune.com/south-sudan-experiencing-ethnic-cleansing-un-report-says/415571874/|title=South Sudan experiencing ethnic cleansing, UN report says|publisher=Star Tribune|access-date=9 March 2017|date=7 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308104227/http://www.startribune.com/south-sudan-experiencing-ethnic-cleansing-un-report-says/415571874/|archive-date=8 March 2017|url-status=dead}} He claimed the SPLA razed down several villages and that his lawyers were preparing a case before the International Criminal Court against senior SPLA staff and members of the Jieng Council of Elders.{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/shilluk-king-accuses-government-ethnic-cleansing-upper-nile|title=South Sudan experiencing ethnic cleansing, UN report says|publisher=Star Tribune|access-date=9 March 2017|date=7 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170308151028/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/shilluk-king-accuses-government-ethnic-cleansing-upper-nile|archive-date=8 March 2017|url-status=dead}}

{{See also|1998 Sudan famine}}

During the Second Sudanese Civil War, many from the Fertit, which refers to the various Bantu groups in the Bahr el Ghazal region such as the Banda and Binga,{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sudan/SUDAWEB2-69.htm|title=Famine in Sudan, 1998|date=14 December 1998|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=24 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012062428/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sudan/SUDAWEB2-69.htm|archive-date=12 October 2017|url-status=live}} fought on behalf of the central government in Khartoum against the SPLA.{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/12/wau-displaced-death-horrifying-escapes-161220103833871.html|title=Wau displaced tell of death and horrifying escapes|publisher=aljazeera|access-date=23 December 2016|date=21 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161223005946/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/12/wau-displaced-death-horrifying-escapes-161220103833871.html|archive-date=23 December 2016|url-status=live}} Fertit militias often attacked Dinka civilians, with the police force in Wau, composed of Dinka, fighting for the Dinka.{{cite web|url=https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sudan/SUDAWEB2-12.htm#P539_62807|title=Famine in Sudan, 1998|date=14 December 1998|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=24 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012063201/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/sudan/SUDAWEB2-12.htm#P539_62807|archive-date=12 October 2017|url-status=live}}

Another group traditionally inhabiting the Bahr El Ghazal are the Jur people. In March 2011, a clash between Dinka pastoralists of Lakes State{{cite news|title=WES's Mvolo and Lake's state Yirol West reconciliation|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-WES-s-Mvolo-and-Lake-s,40192|access-date=5 December 2016|newspaper=Sudan Tribune|date=19 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220065320/http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-WES-s-Mvolo-and-Lake-s,40192|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}} and Jur farmers from Western Equatoria over land issues left 7 people dead and 5 injured. This happened following a similar clash over pasture that killed 10 people the previous month.{{cite news|last=Mayom|first=Manyang|title=7 Killed as Yirol West and Mvolo Clashes Ends in Sudan|url=http://www.oyetimes.com/news/africa/10117-7-killed-as-yirol-west-and-mvolo-clashes-ends-in-sudan|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=Oye! Times|date=16 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312004227/http://www.oyetimes.com/news/africa/10117-7-killed-as-yirol-west-and-mvolo-clashes-ends-in-sudan|archive-date=12 March 2012|url-status=live}} The two communities signed a memorandum of understanding in September 2011.

{{See also|2016–17 Wau clashes}}

In 2016, about a year after the Compromise Peace Agreement was signed, groups of ethnic Dinka youth and the SPLA targeted members of the Fertit in Wau, killing dozens and forcing more than 120,000 to flee their homes.{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/south-sudan-dozens-killed-violence-flares-wau-160703063621236.html|title=South Sudan: Dozens killed as violence flares in Wau|publisher=aljazeera|access-date=4 July 2016|date=3 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703133115/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/south-sudan-dozens-killed-violence-flares-wau-160703063621236.html|archive-date=3 July 2016|url-status=live}}

In April 2017, Mathiang Anyoor led by General Thayip Gatluak attacked Wau, targeting Jur and Fertit people, killing at least 18 people.{{cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/04/south-sudan-civilians-killed-wau-fighting-170410182833372.html|title=South Sudan: Civilians killed in Wau fighting|publisher=aljazeera|access-date=15 April 2017|date=10 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415043341/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/04/south-sudan-civilians-killed-wau-fighting-170410182833372.html|archive-date=15 April 2017|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Arrow Boys}}

After the Compromise Peace Agreement, some observers felt that the government was holding on to the peace deal to maintain international aid while backing campaigns to increase Dinka control over land and resources traditionally held by other groups. In Western Equatoria, after Dinka cattle herders, allegedly backed by the SPLA, occupied farmland, Zande youth rose up into armed groups, notably the Arrow Boys.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/dec/07/south-sudan-horrific-attacks-prompt-communities-take-arms|title=Horrific attacks prompt South Sudan's communities to form armed groups|work=the guardian|access-date=7 July 2016|date=7 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826022134/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/dec/07/south-sudan-horrific-attacks-prompt-communities-take-arms|archive-date=26 August 2016|url-status=live}} A new rebel faction calling itself the South Sudan Federal Democratic Party (different from but related to the larger similarly named rebel faction led by Peter Gadet, Gabriel Chang and Gathoth Gatkuoth), made up mostly of Lotuko people formed during this time due to growing perceptions of mistreatment by the "Dinka" government and took over a SPLA outpost in Eastern Equatoria.{{cite web|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/south-sudan/south-sudan-s-south-conflict-equatorias|title=South Sudan's South:Conflict in the Equatorias|publisher=International Crisis Group|access-date=9 January 2016|date=25 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161016014322/https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/south-sudan/south-sudan-s-south-conflict-equatorias|archive-date=16 October 2016|url-status=live}}

For most of the South Sudanese Civil War, the fighting was focused in the Greater Upper Nile region. After the clashes in Juba in 2016, the fighting spread to the previously safe haven of Equatoria, where the bulk of SPLM-IO forces went for shelter.{{cite web|url=https://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2016/11/14/who-can-stop-threat-genocide-south-sudan|title=Who can stop the threat of genocide in South Sudan?|date=14 November 2016|publisher=irinnews.org|access-date=4 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161214052603/https://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2016/11/14/who-can-stop-threat-genocide-south-sudan|archive-date=14 December 2016|url-status=live}} Accounts point to both sides targeting civilians on ethnic lines between the Dinka and the dozens of ethnic groups among the Equatorians who are historically in conflict with the Dinka, such as the Karo, who include the Bari.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-congo-refugees-idUSKBN13Q50M|title=South Sudanese flee as country edges closer to 'genocide'|date=1 December 2016|publisher=reuters|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170703003907/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-congo-refugees-idUSKBN13Q50M|archive-date=3 July 2017|url-status=live}} Witnesses report Dinka soldiers threatening villagers that they will kill all Kakwa, another Karo people, for their alleged support to Machar and killing Pojulu people while sparing those who they find can speak Dinka. Much of the atrocities in around Yei are blamed on Mathiang Anyoor. A UN investigation said rape was being used a tool of ethnic cleansing{{cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/united-nations-says-rape-used-as-tool-for-ethnic-cleansing-in-south-sudan/|title=UN:Rape used as a tool of ethnic cleansing in South Sudan|date=2 December 2016|work=CBS news|access-date=4 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205140558/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/united-nations-says-rape-used-as-tool-for-ethnic-cleansing-in-south-sudan/|archive-date=5 December 2016|url-status=live}} and Adama Dieng, the U.N.'s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, warned of genocide after visiting areas of fighting in Yei.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-uganda-refugees-idUSKBN1441QU|title=Hatred spills beyond South Sudan along with refugees|date=15 December 2016|publisher=Reuters|access-date=1 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830083221/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-uganda-refugees-idUSKBN1441QU|archive-date=30 August 2017|url-status=live}} On 4 April 2017, a pro-government militia reportedly led by Major Gen. Gildo Oling attacked mostly Acholis

{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/ndm-condemns-targeted-killings-in-wau-town|title=NDM condemns targeted killings in Wau town|date=13 April 2017|access-date=15 April 2017|work=Radio Tamazuj|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416222127/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/ndm-condemns-targeted-killings-in-wau-town|archive-date=16 April 2017|url-status=live}}

in Pajok and SPLA-IO claimed 200 civilians were killed.{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/south-sudans-silent-slaughter-dinka-massacre-unchecked-by-regional-international-groups|title=South Sudan's silent slaughter: Dinka massacre unchecked by regional, international groups|date=13 April 2017|access-date=15 April 2017|work=Fox News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415174852/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/13/south-sudans-silent-slaughter-dinka-massacre-unchecked-by-regional-international-groups.html|archive-date=15 April 2017|url-status=live}}

Many of the self-defense factions formed among the Equatorians have targeted Dinka civilians,{{cite news|url=http://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2016/11/14/who-can-stop-threat-genocide-south-sudan|title=Who can stop the threat of genocide in South Sudan?|date=14 November 2016|access-date=12 March 2017|work=IRIN news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313124859/http://www.irinnews.org/analysis/2016/11/14/who-can-stop-threat-genocide-south-sudan|archive-date=13 March 2017|url-status=live}} including in one case where a convoy of commercial vehicles along the Juba-Yei road was stopped and separated into Dinka and non-Dinka and the Dinka were executed, with up to 21 people killed.{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/dinka-council-elders-condemns-juba-yei-ambush-attack|title=Dinka Council of Elders condemns Juba- Yei ambush attack|date=10 October 2016|access-date=12 March 2017|work=Radio Tamazuj|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313142513/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/dinka-council-elders-condemns-juba-yei-ambush-attack|archive-date=13 March 2017|url-status=dead}} Among the refugees fleeing the violence are a few Dinka as well and they faced violence among Equatorians in the refugee camps as retribution.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/us-seeks-sanctions-on-south-sudan-rebel-leader-army-chief/2016/11/18/95a75fd4-ae11-11e6-8f19-21a1c65d2043_story.html|title=US seeks sanctions on South Sudan rebel leader, army chief|date=19 November 2016|newspaper=washington post|access-date=4 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120154335/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/us-seeks-sanctions-on-south-sudan-rebel-leader-army-chief/2016/11/18/95a75fd4-ae11-11e6-8f19-21a1c65d2043_story.html|archive-date=20 November 2016|url-status=dead}} Ugandan authorities often house Dinka refugees separately to minimize violence.{{cite news|url=http://www.irinnews.org/special-report/2017/07/12/war-equatoria|title=The war in Equatoria|date=12 July 2017|publisher=Irinnews|access-date=22 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222224634/http://www.irinnews.org/special-report/2017/07/12/war-equatoria|archive-date=22 December 2017|url-status=live}}

{{See also|Abyei|Abyei border conflict (2022–present)}}

In January 2011, clashes between nomadic Misseriya Arabs and the Dinka people killed 'dozens' in Abyei preceding the independence referendum. A source of tension was reportedly the delay in holding a separate referendum for the Abyei region. The Dinka largely supported South Sudan's independence during the Second Sudanese Civil War.{{cite news|last=IRIN|first=AllAfrica|title=Sudan: Timeline Since the Referendum|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201103190002.html|access-date=2 January 2012|newspaper=allAfrica.com|date=18 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110321170213/http://allafrica.com/stories/201103190002.html|archive-date=21 March 2011|url-status=live}} In February, at a market in Abyei, three people are killed and 300 sought refuge in a United Nations (UNMIS) mission compound. In the same month, in Todach, Abyei, ten people died when armed militias stormed a police post. Southern Sudan officials reported some of the attackers were Misseriya, but claimed the attack itself was connected to a Khartoum government-sponsored militia. In March, another militia attack in Abyei killed 30 people, as militias burned hundreds of dwellings and close to 25,000 people fled the town, migrating south. The United Nations then sent in 100 peacekeepers.{{cite news|last=Cutler|first=David|title=Timeline: Sudan's disputed Abyei region|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sudan-abyei-events-idUSTRE74M2ZP20110523|access-date=7 January 2012|newspaper=Reuters|date=23 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120726140406/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/23/us-sudan-abyei-events-idUSTRE74M2ZP20110523|archive-date=26 July 2012|url-status=live}} The armed forces of north and south Sudan deployed heavy weapons to the region. In April, Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, issued a statement saying he will not accept South Sudan's independence as voted in the January referendum unless the north takes control over the oil-rich Abyei region. A draft proposal from the south claims Abyei. In May, Sudan's tanks entered Abyei in an attempt to clear out southern forces. The UN, US and UK condemned this move. By the end of the month, the African Union disclosed that a tentative agreement was reached, establishing a preliminary 20-kilometre ceasefire line and demilitarized region in Abyei.{{cite news|last=Gettleman|first=Jeffrey|title=North and South Sudan Tentatively Agree to Demilitarize Disputed Border|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/world/africa/01sudan.html|access-date=7 January 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=31 May 2011|author2=Josh Kron|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211171041/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/world/africa/01sudan.html|archive-date=11 February 2012|url-status=live}} By June, the UN reported that 146,000 people had been displaced in the Abyei region, on the disputed border zone.{{cite news|last=Mazen|first=Maram|title=Sudan's Abyei Clashes Displace 113,000 People, UN Reports|url=http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-06-17/sudan-s-abyei-clashes-displace-113-000-people-un-reports.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120723224959/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-06-17/sudan-s-abyei-clashes-displace-113-000-people-un-reports.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 July 2012|access-date=7 January 2012|newspaper=BusinessWeek|date=17 June 2011}}

In March 2011, an armed clash over a land dispute in Twic East County, Jonglei between members of the Ayuel and Dachuek Dinka, killed 22 people, including one SPLA officer.{{cite news|last=AFP |first=Khartoum |title=22 killed in south Sudan land dispute |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Africa/22-killed-in-south-Sudan-land-dispute/Article1-669825.aspx |access-date=5 January 2012 |newspaper=The Hindustan Times |date=5 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021080830/http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Africa/22-killed-in-south-Sudan-land-dispute/Article1-669825.aspx |archive-date=21 October 2012}}

In 2015, more than 70 people were killed in the Apuk and Aguok clans and 2,000 cattle were used as compensation for the victims.{{cite news|title=Apuk and Aguok community of Gokrial collected 2000 head of cattle to compensate their inter-clan victims|url=http://upperniletimes.net/must-read/apuk-and-aguok-community-of-gokrial-collected-2000-head-of-cattle-to-compensate-their-inter-clan-victims/|access-date=15 June 2017|newspaper=Upper Nile Times|date=2 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012033542/http://upperniletimes.net/must-read/apuk-and-aguok-community-of-gokrial-collected-2000-head-of-cattle-to-compensate-their-inter-clan-victims/|archive-date=12 October 2017|url-status=usurped}} In June 2017, 38 people were killed in Gogrial State in fighting between Apuk and Aguok over border disputes.{{cite news|title=38 killed in tribal clashes in South Sudan|url=http://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/38-killed-in-tribal-clashes-in-south-sudan/news-story/7273194d6e0078ff85983fe4f575f0c8|access-date=15 June 2017|newspaper=Deutsche Presse Agentur|date=5 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607080033/http://www.news.com.au/world/breaking-news/38-killed-in-tribal-clashes-in-south-sudan/news-story/7273194d6e0078ff85983fe4f575f0c8|archive-date=7 June 2017|url-status=live}}

In the Lakes Region, clashes between Ruop and Pakam clans in Malek County in 2018 killed at least 170 according to government officials, with 342 houses burnt and 1,800 people displaced.{{cite news|title=Death toll from fighting in South Sudan's Great Lakes rises to 170|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-fighting-casualties/death-toll-from-fighting-in-south-sudans-great-lakes-rises-to-170-idUSKBN1E60T8|access-date=22 December 2017|newspaper=Reuters|date=12 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223042510/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-fighting-casualties/death-toll-from-fighting-in-south-sudans-great-lakes-rises-to-170-idUSKBN1E60T8|archive-date=23 December 2017|url-status=live}} Clashes in 2019 between the Gak and Manuer, both of the Pakam,{{cite news|title=GAK AND MANUER SECTIONS PUT PEN TO PAPER TO END FIVE YEARS OF INTER-COMMUNAL CONFLICT IN LAKES|url=https://unmiss.unmissions.org/gak-and-manuer-sections-put-pen-paper-end-five-years-inter-communal-conflict-lakes|access-date=28 March 2020|newspaper=United Nations|date=13 December 2018}} led to the deaths of 79 people.{{cite news|title=UN peacekeepers intervene after violent clashes in South Sudan|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/dec/06/un-peacekeepers-intervene-after-violent-clashes-in-south-sudan|access-date=28 March 2020|newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 December 2019}}

{{Main|South Sudan United Front|South Sudan Patriotic Army}}

During the South Sudanese Civil War, there was friction between the ruling Dinka elite. The President Salvar Kiir's Dinka of Warrap were in a feud with the Dinka of the chief of staff Paul Malong Awan's Aweil, who contributed the bulk of the government's fighting force.{{cite news|url=http://www.irinnews.org/opinion/2017/11/15/south-sudan-needs-bold-alternatives-not-dumpster-fire-failed-interventions|title=South Sudan needs bold alternatives, not this dumpster fire of failed interventions|date=15 November 2017|access-date=7 January 2018|work=Irin News}} Around this time, the largely Dinka South Sudan Patriotic Army (SSPA) was formed in Northern Bahr el Ghazal, with the backing of powerful figures such as former presidential adviser Costello Garang Ring{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/costello-s-army-general-group-of-soldiers-defect-to-government-in-aweil|title=Costello's army general, group of soldiers defect to government in Aweil|date=27 October 2017|access-date=5 August 2018|work=Radio Tamazuj}} and allegedly Malong Awan. In May 2017, Kiir reduced the power of the chief of staff position{{cite news|url=https://www.voaafrica.com/a/south-sudan-president-restructures-spla-leadership/3853440.html|title=South Sudan President Restructures SPLA leadership|date=16 May 2017|access-date=17 May 2017|work=Voice of America}} and fired Malong Awan.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southsudan-military-idUSKBN18528T|title=South Sudan president replaces army chief|date=9 May 2017|access-date=13 May 2017|work=Reuters}} Awan left Juba with most of his Mathiang Anyoor militia{{cite news|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201705170359.html|title=South Sudan: Why Kiir Had to Fire His Army Chief Malong|date=16 May 2017|access-date=17 May 2017|work=The East African}} while other militia members reportedly joined SSPA. By the end of 2017, SSPA had claimed to have captured territory around Aweil.{{cite news|url=https://radiotamazuj.org/en/news/article/rebel-group-claims-capture-of-two-areas-in-northern-bahr-al-ghazal|title=Rebel group claims capture of two areas in Northern Bahr al Ghazal|date=15 June 2017|access-date=5 August 2018|work=Radio Tamazuj}}{{cite news|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article62752|title=South Sudan army denies rebel capture of military base in Aweil|date=16 June 2017|access-date=5 August 2018|work=Sudan Tribune}} Awan was accused of plotting a rebellion and was detained but then released.{{cite news|url=http://sudantribune.com/spip.php?article64448|title=South Sudan president says Awan has to return to prove his innoncence|date=8 January 2018|access-date=11 February 2018|work=Sudan Tribune}} In April 2018, Awan announced the launch of a rebel group named South Sudan United Front (SS-UF), which claimed to push for federalism.{{cite news|url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/South-Sudan-ex-army-chief-forms-new-rebel-group/2558-4379144-3jnbuaz/index.html|title=South Sudan ex-army chief Malong forms new rebel movement|date=9 April 2018|access-date=15 April 2018|work=East African}}

{{See also|2009 Sobat River ambush}}

During the Second Sudanese Civil War, The Luo Nuer and the Jikany Nuer were in open conflict, particular around Nasir in Nasir County, from the SPLA split in 1994 to around the end of the war in 2004.

{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_5FadVkhT6kC&pg=PA288|title=Small Arms Survey 2010: Gangs, Groups, and Guns|last=Small Arms Survey|page=288|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-521-14684-5|access-date=26 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140111084205/http://books.google.com/books?id=_5FadVkhT6kC&pg=PA288|archive-date=11 January 2014|url-status=live}}

{{main|South Sudanese Civil War}}

{{Seealso|Pagak offensive}}

During the South Sudanese Civil War, the Nuer dominated South Sudan Liberation Army, led by Mathew Pul Jang, sided with the government and helped take back Bentiu in December 2013.{{cite web|url=http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article49286|title=Ex-rebels issue three-day ultimatum for surrender of dissident Unity state commander|date=23 December 2013|publisher=Sudan Tribune|access-date=17 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118052457/http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article49286|archive-date=18 January 2017|url-status=live}}

The Dinka dominated SPLA recruited militias and young men from the Jikany Nuer and Bul Nuer in Unity state to take back areas held by the Nuer dominated SPLM-IO.{{cite news|last=McNeish |first=Hannah |title=South Sudan:women and girls raped as 'wages' for government-allied fighters |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/sep/28/south-sudan-women-girls-raped-as-wages-for-government-allied-fighters |access-date=13 December 2016 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221084603/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/sep/28/south-sudan-women-girls-raped-as-wages-for-government-allied-fighters |archive-date=21 December 2016}}

The main Nuer led opposition, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition, had a split with those loyal to Taban Deng Gai, called the Juba faction of the SPLM/A-IO, joining with the government to fight the rebels.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|publisher=Small Arms Survey |title=The Conflict in Northern and Western Bahrel Ghazal States |location=Geneva |date=16 October 2014 |url=http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/archive/south-sudan/conflict-crisis-2013-15/bahr-el-ghazal/The-Conflict-in-Northern-and-Western-Bahr-el-Ghazal-States-Oct-2014.pdf |ref={{harvid|Small Arms Survey|2014}}}}

• Merisiya, Isaac Morris. [http://allafrica.com/stories/201201040480.html South Sudan: How to Reduce Cattle Raid, Indirectly Disarm the Civil Population in the Country – allAfrica.com, Opinion (4 January 2012)]. The Citizen (Juba)
• [http://www.minorityvoices.org/news.php/en/954/new-report-urgent-measures-needed-to-protect-all-ethnic-groups-after-recent-south-sudan-attacks-mrg Community Perspectives on the Lou Nuer and Murle conflict in South Sudan], briefing by Boma Development Initiative / Minority Rights Group International

{{Sudan topics}}

{{South Sudan topics}}

{{ongoing military conflicts}}

{{Post-Cold War African conflicts}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Sudan internal conflict (2011-present)}}

Category:2010s in South Sudan

Category:2010s conflicts

Category:Jonglei State

Category:Upper Nile (state)

Category:Civil wars in South Sudan

Category:South Sudanese Civil War

Category:Discrimination in South Sudan