Nuer White Army
| Nuer White Army | |
|---|---|
Government of South Sudan |
The Nuer White Army, sometimes decapitalised as the "white army", is a semi-official name for a militant organisation formed by the
Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) for the dual purpose of defending Nuer cattle herds from neighbouring groups and fighting in the Second Sudanese Civil War between the SPLM/A and the Sudanese government.[3]
While sometimes reported that the White Army was so named due to the Nuer practice of smearing one's skin with a
Sudan Armed Forces,[3] with the irregular "white" forces opposing the regular "black" forces, so called because white has a positive connotation and black a negative one.[4]
History of activity
1990s
During the
During the war, though the term "White Army" could refer collectively to Nuer youth militants, there was rarely any functioning central authority for the disparate fighters, and a number of White Army factions based around different cattle camps operated autonomously or semi-autonomously of one another. The ranks of leadership had a reportedly high rate of turnover.[3]
2000s
After the
Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldier, that the fighters gave up their attempts at resistance, according to the Small Arms Survey.[3] The news service IRIN reported that more than 1,000 Lou Nuer men and boys in Akobo County who had been part of the White Army voluntarily surrendered their weapons to authorities in July 2006.[7]
2010s
In late December 2011, several months after
Jonglei and Upper Nile, which began when armed Murle fighters under the influence of George Athor's South Sudan Democratic Movement launched a cattle raid against the Lou Nuer in Jonglei state.[8][9][10] UNMISS responded by deploying peacekeepers to Pibor town and urging both the Murle and Lou Nuer to lay down their arms.[11]
References
- ^ a b "South Sudan: 'White Army' militia marches to fight". USA Today. 28 December 2013.
- ^ "South Sudan forces battle White Army". The Daily Star. LB. 29 December 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Young, John (June 2007). "The White Army: An Introduction and Overview" (PDF). Small Arms Survey. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ Young, John (July 2016). "Popular Struggles and Elite Co-optation: The Nuer White Army in South Sudan's Civil War" (PDF). p. 13.
- ^ "South Sudan: White Army 'abandons war march' on Bor town". bbcnews.com. 29 December 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
- ^ No one to intervene: gaps in civilian protection in southern Sudan. Human Rights Watch. 2009. pp. 8–9.
- ^ "Armed youth voluntarily disarm in Jonglei". IRIN. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- ^ Jonathan, Bith (26 December 2011). "Nuer Youth White Army plans a massive attack on Murle Tribe, UN warns". The Upper Nile Times. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ "S Sudan youth 'planning to attack tribe'". News24. 27 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ "South Sudan army denies participation in Jonglei conflict". Sudan Tribune. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ "South Sudan: UN blue helmets deploy to deter ethnic violence in key town". UN News Service. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2011.