2010 South Darfur clash

Last updated
2010 South Darfur attack
Part of Sudanese nomadic conflicts
Date23 April 2010
Location
Bulbula, South Darfur, Sudan
9°59′31″N26°10′54″E / 9.9918433°N 26.1817932°E / 9.9918433; 26.1817932
Belligerents
Flag of the SPLA (until 2011).svg SPLA Unknown, claimed to be Rezeigat tribe or Sudan People's Armed Forces
Strength
A company of 120 men [1] Four landcruisers with mounted machine guns
Casualties and losses
Unknown At least 58 killed and 85 wounded according to Rezeigat tribal source [2]
Sudan (2005-2011) location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bulbula within Sudan.

On 23 April 2010 a military clash occurred in South Darfur involving a Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) company and another party. The clash happened in Balballa near to the border with the Bahr al-Ghazal province. The identity of the other combatant is disputed with the SPLA claiming it to be the North Sudanese Sudan People's Armed Forces (SPAF) whilst the SPAF and tribal sources say that it was Rezeigat nomadic Arab tribesmen that were involved. A Rezeigat tribal leader has said that 58 tribesmen were killed in the clash and 85 were wounded. The governor of Bahr al-Ghazal has stated that both sides suffered casualties but no figures for SPLA losses are known.

Contents

The attack came just before results of the April general election were due to be announced. North Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was expected to win the election, with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement retaining control over the semi-autonomous south of the country. [1]

Responsibility

It is not known who instigated the attack. The SPLA claims that the attackers were uniformed members of the northern Sudan People's Armed Forces (SPAF) and used four landcruisers with mounted machine guns. [2] The SPAF denies any involvement in this attack but stated that the SPLA had clashed with the Rezeigat nomadic Arab tribe, calling it a "clear violation" of the 2005 peace deal. [2] A tribal spokesman confirmed to the Agence France Presse news agency that the Rezeigat had been involved in the clash with the SPLA whilst searching for new pastures for their cattle. [1] The SPLA denied this stating that the Rezeigat were not equipped with landcruisers. [3] The governor of nearby Bahr al-Ghazal province only confirmed a clash between the SPLA and "armed men" that caused casualties on both sides. [3] The governor stated that he would meet with the Darfuri authorities to discuss the matter. [3]

Attack

The attack occurred in Balballa, South Darfur and according to a tribal leader resulted in the deaths of at least 58 tribesmen and the wounding of 85 more. [2] Reinforcements from both sides are reported to be heading to the area with SPLA forces said to be headed from Raja, Aweil and Wau. [4] The Rezeigat were previously involved in a conflict with other nomadic tribes in 2009 that claimed the lives of 900 people. [1] The SPLA is affiliated with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement which rules the semi-autonomous South Sudan region and was permitted to retain an army after a peace deal ended the Second Sudanese Civil War in 2005. [2]

The SPLA stated that another attack had been launched on its forces in the area on 25 April. [1] This attack occurred in the Raja area and forced the SPLA force to retreat. Of the approximately 100 men in the area 47 had reported back with the remainder presumed to be still out in the field. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baggara Arabs</span> Nomadic confederation in the Sahel

The Baggāra or Chadian Arabs are a nomadic confederation of people of mixed Arab and Arabized indigenous African ancestry, inhabiting a portion of the Sahel mainly between Lake Chad and the Nile river near south Kordofan, numbering over six million. They are known as Baggara and Abbala in Sudan, and as Shuwa Arabs in Cameroon, Nigeria and Western Chad. The term Shuwa is said to be of Kanuri origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Bahr el Ghazal</span> State of South Sudan

Western Bahr el Ghazal is a state in South Sudan. It has an area of 93,900 km2 (36,255 sq mi) and is the least populous state in South Sudan, according to the controversial Sudanese census conducted in 2008. It is part of the Bahr el Ghazal region. Its capital is Wau. The state shared international borders with Sudan to the north and the Central African Republic to the west. The portion now occupied by Raga County is the southern part of the historical region known as "Dar Fertit".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Sudan Liberation Movement</span> South Sudanese guerrilla organisation (1999-present)

The South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM) is an armed group that operates in the Upper Nile Region of South Sudan. The group's creation was announced in November 1999 by people of the Nuer ethnicity who were in both the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the government-allied South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) gathered in Waat. The SSLM was declared to be unaligned in the Second Sudanese Civil War, then entering its sixteenth year. The name "South Sudan Liberation Movement" was decided upon the next year, borrowing from the earlier Southern Sudan Liberation Movement, which existed in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wau, South Sudan</span> City in Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan

Wau is a city in northwestern South Sudan, on the western bank of the Jur River, that serves as capital for Western Bahr el Ghazal. It lies approximately 650 kilometres (400 mi) northwest of the capital Juba. A culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse urban center and trading hub, Wau is also the former headquarters of Western Bahr el Ghazal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Darfur</span> Genocidal conflict in Southwestern Sudan

The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting against the government of Sudan, which they accused of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population. The government responded to attacks by carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arabs. This resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the indictment of Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deim Zubeir</span> Town in Western Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan

Deim Zubeir, from the Arabic ديم الزبير ["Daim az-Zubayr"], commonly translated as the "Camp of Zubeir", is the historically established but highly controversial name of Uyujuku town in the Western Bahr el Ghazal of the Republic of South Sudan, located in the Western Bahr El Ghazal part of the country, some 70 km from the border with the Central African Republic (CAR), near the Biri tributary of the River Chel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Darfur</span>

Throughout its history, Darfur has been the home to several cultures and kingdoms, such as the Daju and Tunjur kingdoms. The recorded history of Darfur begins in the seventeenth century, with the foundation of the Fur Sultanate by the Keira dynasty. In 1875, the Anglo-Egyptian condominium in Khartoum ended the dynasty. The British allowed Darfur a measure of autonomy until formal annexation in 1916. However, the region remained underdeveloped through the period of colonial rule and after independence in 1956. The majority of national resources were directed toward the riverine Arabs clustered along the Nile near Khartoum. This pattern of structural inequality and overly underdevelopment resulted in increasing restiveness among Darfuris. The influence of regional geopolitics and war by proxy, coupled with economic hardship and environmental degradation, from soon after independence led to sporadic armed resistance from the mid-1980s. The continued violence culminated in an armed resistance movement around 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahr al-Arab</span> River in Sudan, South Sudan

The Bahr al-Arab or Kiir River (Dinka) is a river which flows approximately 800 km (500 mi) through the southwest of Sudan and marks part of its international border with South Sudan. It is part of the Nile river system, being a tributary of Bahr el Ghazal, which is a tributary of the White Nile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Sudan People's Defence Forces</span> Combined military forces of South Sudan

The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 1983 and was a key participant of the Second Sudanese Civil War, led by John Garang. After Garang's death in 2005, Salva Kiir was named the SPLA's new Commander-in-Chief. As of 2010, the SPLA was divided into divisions of 10,000–14,000 soldiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese nomadic conflicts</span> Non-state conflicts between rival nomadic tribes

Sudanese nomadic conflicts are non-state conflicts between rival nomadic tribes taking place in the territory of Sudan and, since 2011, South Sudan. Conflict between nomadic tribes in Sudan is common, with fights breaking out over scarce resources, including grazing land, cattle and drinking water. Some of the tribes involved in these clashes have been the Messiria, Maalia, Rizeigat and Bani Hussein Arabic tribes inhabiting Darfur and West Kordofan, and the Dinka, Nuer and Murle African ethnic groups inhabiting South Sudan. Conflicts have been fueled by other major wars taking place in the same regions, in particular the Second Sudanese Civil War, the War in Darfur and the Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Sobat River ambush</span>

The 2009 Sobat River ambush was a battle between Jikany Nuer tribesmen and the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) which was escorting a United Nations (UN) aid convoy on 12 June 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile</span> 2011–2020 insurgency in southern Sudan

The Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile was an armed conflict in the Sudanese states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement–North (SPLM-N), a northern affiliate of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in South Sudan. After some years of relative calm following the 2005 agreement which ended the second Sudanese civil war between the Sudanese government and SPLM rebels, fighting broke out again in the lead-up to South Sudan independence on 9 July 2011, starting in South Kordofan on 5 June and spreading to the neighboring Blue Nile state in September. SPLM-N, splitting from newly independent SPLM, took up arms against the inclusion of the two southern states in Sudan with no popular consultation and against the lack of democratic elections. The conflict is intertwined with the War in Darfur, since in November 2011 SPLM-N established a loose alliance with Darfuri rebels, called Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF).

The history of South Sudan comprises the history of the territory of present-day South Sudan and the peoples inhabiting the region.

Kerubino Kuanyin Bol was a Sudanese rebel leader who was one of the founders of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and one of the leaders of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) during the Second Sudanese Civil War and was said to have fired the first shot in the conflict.

Ethnic violence in South Sudan has a long history among South Sudan's varied ethnic groups. South Sudan has 64 tribes with the largest being the Dinka, who constitute about 35% of the population and predominate in government. The second largest are the Nuers. Conflict is often aggravated among nomadic groups over the issue of cattle and grazing land and is part of the wider Sudanese nomadic conflicts.

The 2014 Bentiu massacre occurred on 15 April 2014 in the town of Bentiu, in the north of South Sudan, during the South Sudanese Civil War. The attack has been described by The Economist as the "worst massacre" of the civil war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016–2019 Wau clashes</span> Armed conflict in Wau, South Sudan

Armed clashes took in Wau State from late June 2016 to January 2019 between the Dinka-dominated Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and local opposition forces, consisting of tribal Fertit militias as well as fighters claiming allegiance to Riek Machar. It is unclear to what extent these rebels were actually part of the SPLM-IO or acting independently while using the SPLM-IO's name. The clashes resulted in the arrest of the state's governor, Elias Waya Nyipuoc, widespread death and destruction in the state capital, Wau town, and the displacement of up to 150,000 people.

The Army of Peace was a large alliance of Fertit tribal militias in Western Bahr el Ghazal during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Although initially armed by the Sudanese government in order to fight against South Sudanese separatists, the Army of Peace became especially notorious for massacring Dinka civilians. These mass killings grew so excessive that the group even came into violent conflicts with other pro-government forces. The militia was mostly disbanded in 1988, though a rump faction continued to be active and joined the Popular Defence Forces in 1989, and later the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF) in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Sudan Patriotic Army</span>

The South Sudan Patriotic Army is a South Sudanese rebel militia that takes part in the South Sudanese Civil War and serves as the military wing of Costello Garang Ring's South Sudan Patriotic Movement. Well armed and relatively numerous, the SSPA mostly operates in Northern Bahr el Ghazal and is considered to be one of the most powerful rebel groups in South Sudan.

The 2014 retreat from Western Bahr el Ghazal, also called the long march north, was an unorganized withdrawal by hundreds of Nuer Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) deserters who sought to flee from Bahr el Ghazal to Sudan during the South Sudanese Civil War. After longstanding tensions between SPLA soldiers belonging to the Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups escalated on 25 April 2014, leading to a massacre of Nuer soldiers at Mapel in Western Bahr el Ghazal, a large number of Nuer SPLA soldiers deserted to escape ethnic prosecution and loyalist SPLA forces. Though some deserters joined SPLM-IO rebels or surrendered to the government, a large number of them marched northward, joined by other SPLA defectors from Northern Bahr el Ghazal. After covering over 400 kilometres (250 mi), this trek eventually arrived in Sudan on 4 August 2014, where they were disarmed.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Sudan clashes kill 'at least 50'". BBC News. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 McDoom, Opheera (25 April 2010). "North–south Sudan clashes kill 58, injure 85". Washington Post. Retrieved 25 April 2010.[ dead link ]
  3. 1 2 3 "Southern Sudan forces attacked near Darfur: SPLA". AFP. Archived from the original on April 28, 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  4. "55 killed in Darfur clashes". News 24. 25 April 2010. Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2010.