URGENT: South Sudan army says it and UN unable to protect civilians in Jonglei State. Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war. (UPDATE 1: Added YouTube video link)

• Fighting in South Sudan cuts off 100,000 people from aid

• South Sudan army says it and UN unable to protect civilians in Jonglei

• Fighting in South Sudan forces thousands into bush

• South Sudan fails to protect civilians in east, US say

• Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war   

Note by the Editor of Sudan Watch:
HERE below is an alarming news report by Agence France Presse (AFP), published online yesterday (Wednesday 17 July 2013).  If the report is true and accurate, and considering what happened between the Lou Nuer and Murle people in December 2011 (reportedly, thousands were massacred), it could be a dreadful warning that many people in South Sudan are about to lose their lives. 

The AFP report copied below is followed by a few news reports.  I selected the reports for this blog post.  Note that one of the reports by Reuters ends by saying:  "A cycle of tribal violence has killed more than 1,600 people in Jonglei since South Sudan's secession, hampering plans to explore for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. firm Exxon".

Finally, here are a few points taken from some of the other news reports, particularly regarding tribal clashes in Jonglei State, South Sudan:

• Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war   

• UN humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos said the new fighting made it impossible to supply some 100,000 people in Pibor county in Jonglei State with "life-saving assistance.  The fighting is threatening the lives of ordinary people," Amos said in a statement.   The United Nations did not have enough helicopters to deliver aid to Jonglei where overland travel is impossible in the rainy reason, she said.  

• Medicins sans Frontiers (MSF), one of the few aid groups operating in Jonglei, said more than 120,000 people had been forced to flee clashes between the army and Yau Yau rebels.

• Last week, the United States, South Sudan's biggest ally, said Juba was not doing enough to protect civilians and urged the army to stop attacking U.N. staff and looting aid agencies.

• Separate tribal clashes were also reported in Unity state, site of several oilfields

South Sudan army says it and UN unable to protect civilians:  Minister
Wednesday 17 July 2013 - JUBA, South Sudan (Agence France Presse (AFP)) - South Sudan's deputy defence chief has said neither his troops nor United Nations peacekeepers are able to protect civilians in conflict-wracked Jonglei, where thousands of rival ethnic militiamen are fighting.

Video footage from eastern South Sudan's Jonglei shot by UN officials and seen by AFP show columns of heavily armed fighters from the Lou Nuer people marching past, watched on by a small force of government troops and UN peacekeepers.

"Much as we believe in the ideals of the responsibility to protect, our mandate as the government and the mandate of the UN cannot match with resources that are there," South Sudan's deputy minister of defence Majak D'Agoot told AFP late Tuesday.

The video was shot Sunday in the village of Manyabol in Pibor County, when the UN went to support the pickup of some 200 wounded fighters -- casualties from almost two weeks of fighting in the latest round of reprisal attacks sparked by age-old ethnic rivalry and cattle raiding.

The video shows fighters apparently returning towards their homelands, some leading stolen cattle.

The numbers of fighters suggest attacks on a scale comparable to those of December 2011, when some 8,000 Lou Nuer marched on Pibor, home town of their long-term rivals, the Murle people.

The UN later estimated more than 600 people were massacred in those attacks, although local officials reported the figure to have been far higher, while killings continued in a series of reprisal attacks.

D'Agoot said that in Manyabol the army had only one company, alongside a handful of UN peacekeepers, and that they were vastly outnumbered by as many as 7,000 militia gunmen.

Taking action in those circumstances would have been "suicidal", he said.

Hilde Johnson, head of the UN mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), said she had not seen the video her force had shot, but said that peacekeepers had sighted Lou Nuer forces and were "verifying that they were moving north on their return home".

Tit-for-tat cattle raids and reprisal killings are common in this severely under-developed state, awash with guns left over from almost two decades of civil war.

But recent attacks are on larger scale, with organised and well armed forces fighting.

South Sudan's rebel-turned-official army has also been fighting in the region to crush a rebellion led by David Yau Yau, who comes from the Murle people, since 2010.

View original report reprinted at:
http://www.omantribune.com/index.php?page=news&id=148596
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RELATED NEWS REPORTS

Fighting in South Sudan cuts off 100,000 people from aid
Wednesday 17 July 2013 - JUBA, South Sudan (By Andrew Green, Reuters) - Fighting between government forces, rebels and rival tribes has cut off 100,000 people from urgently needed food and medical aid in South Sudan's east, U.N. and aid officials said on Wednesday.

South Sudan's army is facing a rebellion from local politician David Yau Yau in the vast Jonglei state, and new clashes have broken out between the rival Lou Nuer and Murle tribes.

Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war, undermining stability in the young African country, where weapons are plentiful after decades of conflict with Khartoum that led to its secession from Sudan in 2011.

U.N. humanitarian aid chief Valerie Amos said the new fighting made it impossible to supply some 100,000 people in Pibor county in Jonglei State with "life-saving assistance".

"The fighting is threatening the lives of ordinary people," Amos said in a statement. The United Nations did not have enough helicopters to deliver aid to Jonglei where overland travel is impossible in the rainy reason, she said.

Medicins sans Frontiers (MSF), one of the few aid groups operating in Jonglei, said more than 120,000 people had been forced to flee clashes between the army and Yau Yau rebels.

A United Nations source said armed Lou Nuer youth had attacked several Murle villages in the past two weeks. Fighters loyal to Yau Yau, who is popular with his Murle tribe, had come to help fight back.

Separate tribal clashes were also reported in Unity state, site of several oilfields. In one incident, attackers apparently burnt a hut in a village with a woman and three children inside, said a U.N. source, asking not to be named.

The United Nations has not published any casualty figures of the Jonglei fighting despite a large presence of peacekeepers. Critics say the world body does not want to embarrass the government.

South Sudan accuses Khartoum of supplying Yau Yau with weapons. Diplomats say the claims are credible but South Sudan's army is also fuelling dissent with abuses such as rape, killings and torture committed during a state disarmament campaign.

Last week, the United States, South Sudan's biggest ally, said Juba was not doing enough to protect civilians and urged the army to stop attacking U.N. staff and looting aid agencies.

South Sudan has struggled to turn its army, a loose group of former guerrillas formed during the civil war, into a professional force.

Tribal violence has killed more than 1,600 people in Jonglei since South Sudan's secession, hampering plans to explore for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. firm Exxon.
(Reporting by Andrew Green in Juba and Ulf Laessing in Cairo; Editing by Michael Roddy)

View original report at:
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/17/uk-southsudan-fighting-idUKBRE96G11N20130717
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Fighting in South Sudan forces thousands into bush
Sunday 14 July 2013;  12:17pm EDT - JUBA, South Sudan (By Andrew Green, Reuters) - Fighting between South Sudan's army, rebels and rival tribes has sent thousands of people fleeing into the bush in the east of the country, U.N. and aid officials said on Sunday.

South Sudan's army is facing a rebellion from local politician David Yau Yau in the vast Jonglei state, and new clashes have broken out between rival Lou Nuer and Murle tribes.

Western powers are worried the violence will escalate into full civil war, undermining stability in the young African country, which is awash with arms after decades of conflict with Khartoum that led to its secession from Sudan in 2011.

The United Nations said thousands of people were hiding in the bush outside Pibor town in Jonglei to escape from conflict between the army and Yau Yau, who says he is fighting corruption, army abuses and one-party rule in South Sudan.

"The communities are in urgent need of medical attention," Toby Lanzer, the U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, said in a statement.

At least 200 wounded people had arrived in the Jonglei town of Manyabol after fleeing clashes between the Lou Murle and Murle, the U.N. said. Bringing in aid was difficult as the rainy season had made overland travel impossible.

A United Nations source said armed Lou Nuer youth had attacked at least three Murle villages in the past two weeks. Fighters loyal to Yau Yau, who is popular with his Murle tribe, had come to help fight back.

South Sudan's army spokesman Philip Aguer confirmed there had been new fighting in Jonglei but gave no details.

South Sudan accuses Khartoum of supplying Yau Yau with weapons. Diplomats say the claims are credible but South Sudan's army is also fuelling dissent with abuses such as rape, killings and torture committed during a state disarmament campaign.

Last week, the United States, South Sudan's biggest ally, said Juba was not doing enough to protect civilians and urged the army to stop attacking U.N. staff and looting aid agencies.

South Sudan has struggled to turn its army, a loose group of former guerrillas formed during the civil war, into a professional force.

A cycle of tribal violence has killed more than 1,600 people in Jonglei since South Sudan's secession, hampering plans to explore for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. firm Exxon.

(Writing by Ulf Laessing in Cairo; Editing by Andrew Roche)

View original report at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/14/us-southsudan-fighting-idUSBRE96D08120130714
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South Sudan fails to protect civilians in east, U.S. says
Wednesday 10 July 2013 - JUBA, South Sudan/KHARTOUM, Sudan (Reuters) - The United States issued a rare criticism of South Sudan on Wednesday, saying the African state was failing to protect civilians in the east where the army is fighting an insurgency.

Western powers have long urged Juba to find a peaceful solution to fighting involving the army, a rebel group and rival tribes in the vast Jonglei state but have so far mostly refrained from criticizing the government.

A United Nations source said new fighting erupted a week ago between the rival Lou Nuer and Murle tribes in the Pibor area in Jonglei, killing an unknown number of people.

More violence was expected as armed youths from both sides were amassing forces in the area, the source said. A U.N. team visiting the town said that most civilians had left Pibor, contrary to government figures, the United Nations said in a report.

The United States, South Sudan's biggest ally, said it was "deeply disappointed" that the army, or SPLA, had failed to protect civilians in vulnerable areas in Jonglei.

"The lack of action to protect civilians constitutes an egregious abdication of responsibility by the SPLA and the civilian government," the U.S. embassy in Juba said in a statement.

Washington urged the government to prevent "SPLA attacks on U.N. staff and humanitarian assets". It gave no details but soldiers had looted compounds of U.N. agencies and aid agencies in Pibor in May, according to aid sources.

South Sudan has struggled to turn its army, a loose group of former guerrillas formed the civil war with Khartoum, into a professional force since seceding from Sudan in 2011 under a 2005 peace deal. The U.S. was a driving force in pressuring Khartoum into allowing an independence vote.

The army has faced a rebellion by militia leader David Yau Yau but diplomats say the SPLA is fuelling dissent with abuses such as rape and torture committed during a state disarmament campaign.

A cycle of tribal violence has killed more than 1,600 people in Jonglei since South Sudan's secession, uprooting tens of thousands of civilians and hampering plans to explore for oil with the help of France's Total and U.S. firm Exxon.

Analysts say the roots of the tribal violence and cattle raids go back to South Sudan's failure to start development in Jonglei and elsewhere in the vast country due to corruption.

(Reporting by Andrew Green and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Michael Roddy)

View original report at:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/10/us-southsudan-fighting-idUSBRE96910E20130710
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Click on labels at the end of this post to see previous reports in the archives of Sudan Watch re:  Jonglei, Pibor, Lou Nuer, Murle, Yau Yau, Unity State - at the end of each page click on the hyperlink entitled "Click HERE to scroll down" and keep on scrolling down, page by page.

This blog post was published on Thursday 18 July 2013 at 6:03pm GMT, England, United Kingdom.

UPDATE ON FRIDAY 19 JULY 2013: 
Here is a link to the above mentioned video.  The video was published (source unknown) at YouTube on Thursday 18 July 2013 together with the following title and text:

"UN and SPLA do nothing as thousands of government supported militia go by
Shocked UN peacekeeper in South Sudan village of Manyabol, Jonglei on July 14 2013 narrates video of "thousands and thousands" of member of a government supported militia thought to be returning home from ethnic violence in Jonglei state marching past them and government troops with stolen cattle after violent clashes which have already led to hundreds of wounded. No action was taken to stop them or even to make this sighting public."



Here is a link to the above video, title and text:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_fFxBIJWzw

Security update: High-level UNAMID visit to sheikhs of Kalma, S. Darfur - MSF suspends work in Gumuruk, Jonglei State, S. Sudan

ON July 30th, MSF (Doctors Without Borders) issued a statement (see below) confirming it had suspended its medical activities in Jonglei, southern Sudan due to robberies. MSF's work in other parts of the country remain open.

According to the statement, on July 1 an armed group entered MSF's Gumuruk clinic and stole boxes of the therapeutic ready-to-use food (RUTF) with which MSF treats severely malnourished children. Three days later, more RUTF was stolen along with medical equipment. Then, on July 27, four MSF staff members travelling by boat from Pibor to Gumuruk were violently robbed by armed men. Apart from a small Ministry of Health facility in Pibor town, MSF is the only primary health care provider in this part of Jonglei State, which is home to around 150,000 people, where villages are separated by large distances, and where roads are often impassable. Further details here below.

Note that the robbers seem desperate for food. I guess that if they are criminals, ie from the dreaded Ugandan terrorist group Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), they would have no legitimate way of getting food and medicines. As noted here at Sudan Watch yesterday, on Thursday Sudan Radio Service (SRS) reported an LRA attack in Western Bahr el-Ghazal State. Here is a copy of the report, followed by a UNAMID briefing on the security situation at Kalma IDP camp in South Darfur, western Sudan and news headlines from around the web via The New York Times.

From SRS - Sudan Radio Service
LRA Attack Western Bahr el-Ghazal State

Thursday, 29 July 2010 - (Khartoum) – The Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army, LRA attacked Yabulu village in Western Bahr el Ghazal state last week.

The acting governor of Western Bahr el-Ghazal State and state minister of legal affairs, John Peter Miskin spoke to SRS from Wau on Wednesday and confirmed the attack.

[John Peter Miskin]: “This is not the first time that the LRA attacked Western Bahr el-Ghazal and in particular Raja County. Such an attack has been repeated several times in this part of the state and what happened exactly was that on the 23rd of this July, the LRA sneaked into the state and threatened the people in that area and killed one civilian and abducted other four civilians.

Miskin said his government will beef-up security around Wau.

[John Peter Miskin]: “Inside Wau town the situation is normal but there are arrangements to deploy more troops towards western part of Wau town which will cover up to Raja this is the area that is under threat because it is the area that is repeatedly attacked by the LRA and they are scattered in this area. That area is considered a gateway for them because they move there en route south and northwards that is why there is a high security concern for that area.”

The LRA recent activities have been concentrated in Western Equatoria state.

- - -

Darfur/UNAMID Daily Media Brief - Sunday, 01 August 2010
From United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
EL FASHER (DARFUR), western Sudan - via APO Monday, 02 August 2010:

Security situation update
The situation in Kalma Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp is currently calm but remains tense and unpredictable. UNAMID forces continue to be on high alert.

Acting Mission Chief Yonis visits South Darfur, addresses tensions in Kalma IDP camp
UNAMID Deputy Joint Special Representative (DJSR) and acting Chief of Mission Mohammed Yonis today made a field visit to South Darfur, where he met with the State’s Wali (Governor) and leaders of the troubled Kalma Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, where conflicts over IDP participation in the Doha peace process negotiations recently turned violent, resulting in fatalities estimated, according to different sources, at between five and eight.

DJSR Yonis was accompanied by UNAMID senior officials as well as a Government military liaison officer. Upon arriving in Nyala, Mr. Yonis met with the Wali (Governor) of South Darfur, Dr. Abdul Hammid Musa Kasha, to discuss the security situation in Kalma camp. The Wali asked for a combined effort by UNAMID and the State Government to disarm people in the camp and called for a joint committee to be formed in this regard. Dr. Kasha also asked UNAMID to help deliver the bodies of those killed this weekend to their families, as the authorities could not enter the settlement.

The Wali also took the opportunity of this high-level UNAMID visit to raise a number of issues such as a request for assistance from the Mission in infrastructure projects, notably road construction.

Mr. Yonis thanked the Wali for his Government’s support to UNAMID and pledged the Mission’s collaboration in resolving the Kalma issue, with the cooperation of local authorities and the camp’s IDP leaders (sheikhs). “UNAMID is here to help and to support the Government of the Sudan and the people of Darfur in achieving sustainable peace in the region,” he said

The delegation then travelled to Kalma camp, on the outskirts of Nyala, to meet with the camp’s sheikhs and was appraised of the most recent developments. DJSR Yonis urged the sheikhs to spare no effort to avert further violence and pave the way to reconciliation. The sheikhs in turn asked for UNAMID’s help in providing urgently needed humanitarian aid, mainly food, water and medical supplies, to the thousands of IDPs who gathered around its local Community Policing Center (CPC) over the weekend seeking security.

There are currently several thousand people with their meager possessions surrounding the CPC. Many IDPs have also left for Nyala to escape the violence.

UNAMID patrols
UNAMID military forces conducted 71 patrols including routine, short-range, long-range, night and humanitarian escort patrols covering 56 villages and IDP camps.

UNAMID police advisors conducted 80 patrols in villages and IDP camps.

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Sudan: Security Incidents Force MSF to Suspend Activities in Gumuruk
Programs in Other Parts of the Country Remain Open

From MSF - JULY 30, 2010:

Following three separate security incidents in one of its remote health care clinics, international emergency medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been forced to suspend all activities in Gumuruk, Jonglei State.

MSF is calling on all armed groups, community members, and political parties in Southern Sudan to respect the neutrality of MSF medical staff, activities and facilities so that lifesaving aid can be delivered to people urgently in need.

“Attacks on our staff and clinics prevent us from providing essential medical aid,” said Rob Mulder, MSF head of mission in Southern Sudan. “These incidents are totally unacceptable as they stop us from accessing patients and put our staff at risk.”

MSF runs a primary health care center in the town of Pibor in Jonglei State, and from there runs two smaller outreach clinics in more remote areas, Lekwongole and Gumuruk, which are only accessible by plane or boat during the current rainy season.

On July 1, an armed group entered the Gumuruk clinic and stole boxes of the therapeutic ready-to-use food (RUTF) with which MSF treats severely malnourished children. Three days later, more RUTF was stolen along with medical equipment. Then, on July 27, four MSF staff members travelling by boat from Pibor to Gumuruk were violently robbed by armed men.

“Though we are fully committed to providing emergency medical aid to Gumuruk community, we have been left with no other choice than to suspend all medical activities in our outreach clinic,” added Mulder.

The Gumuruk outreach clinic provides basic medical care, including general consultations, treatment for malnutrition, ante-natal care, and vaccinations for a population of more than 30,000 people. Complex medical cases requiring hospitalization are referred to the larger MSF clinic in Pibor; serious cases in need of surgery are evacuated from there by MSF plane to hospitals in Boma, or in the capital, Juba.

“More than 160 malnourished children were receiving treatment in our Gumuruk clinic,” said Gbane Mahama, MSF medical coordinator for Southern Sudan. These children had received rations to last them for a week, but with the staff evacuated, there is no one to continue their treatment. “In addition,” Mahama adds, “there were up to 20 new cases of severely malnourished children each week. Unless access to this community improves, it is impossible to evacuate those who need hospitalization or surgery, including women with obstructed labor or children with cerebral malaria or severe anemia who need blood transfusions.”

Apart from a small Ministry of Health facility in Pibor town, MSF is the only primary health care provider in this part of Jonglei State, which is home to around 150,000 people, where villages are separated by large distances, and where roads are often impassable.

MSF has been working in Sudan since 1979 providing free-of-charge medical assistance to people suffering from the effects of poor access to health care, floods, droughts, disease outbreaks, armed conflict and nutritional emergencies. MSF runs clinics and hospitals across 10 Sudanese states, including Warrap, Jonglei, Upper Nile, Unity, Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal, Western Equatoria, Central Equatoria, the transitional area of Abyei, Red Sea, Al-Gedaref and North Darfur. MSF is an independent and neutral emergency medical organization that serves all people based on impartial assessments of need, regardless of race, political, tribal or religious affiliation.

Southern Sudan: MSF forced to suspend life-saving work

MSF UK (press release) (blog) - ‎Jul 30, 2010‎

Following three separate security incidents in one of its remote healthcare clinics, international emergency medical aid organisation, Médecins Sans ...

South Sudan Jonglei: Athor's demands include cancellation of election results. UNMIS' Jasbir Lidder mediates

ON THURSDAY (13 May) Radio Miraya reported that in its interview with George Athor, a renegade former senior member of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), Mr Athor demanded the cancellation of the election results, dissolving the current Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and the formation of a new transitional government to supervise holding of the Southern Sudan referendum.

Also, in an interview with Sudan Radio Service (SRS) from an undisclosed location on Wednesday (12 May), Mr Athor said that his talks with the southern government's president-elect are at a standstill. In the interview, Mr Athor is quoted as saying:

“I believe that within days, my attack will be against Bor town because I have learned that Salva is somebody who only likes fighting and he doesn’t want to talk. So it is for him to listen to what we are saying, I am organizing my forces for Bor town, I am organizing my forces for Bor town. [...] my warning to all citizens is that they should leave Bor immediately and any place with military bases, they should leave it, because our target is only the military.”

According to the BBC's James Copnall in Khartoum, on Wednesday morning gunfire was exchanged in Thoudiak between forces belonging to Mr Athor and the Southern army.

Full story here below plus several related reports, including Sudan Tribune's report published Wednesday, 12 May saying:

The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) has pledged to mediate peace between the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) and the renegade Lt. General George Athor Deng.

In a statement to Reuters today, the general Athor said he had been contacted by a UN official offering him to broker a deal with southern Sudan government.

A delegation from UNMIS, headed by the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, Jasbir Lidder, on Wednesday met with the Vice President-designate of the government, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, to explore ways to initiate the process.

The meeting discussed the possibility of halting the crisis by reaching a peaceful settlement to the ongoing clashes in the troubled Jonglei state through negotiations with Athor.

The UN team briefed the Vice President about their ongoing phone contacts with Gen. George Athor whom they said was expressing willingness to negotiate with the government.

The delegation expressed UN’s readiness to provide logistical support for the process.

Dr. Machar appreciated the efforts the UN team has exerted in their direct contacts with Gen. Athor, but however said the government would first make further consultations and review the situation before he could promise a decision to the UN body.

A follow up joint meeting between the government and UNMIS representatives is expected to take place in the next few days in order to try to agree on the way forward.

Photo: Jasbir Singh Lidder (India) Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General (Source: UNMIS - see biography)

Athor demands cancellation of election results
From Radio Miraya - Thursday, 13 May 2010 - excerpt:

Athor, who recently began rebelling against SPLA, warned against what he described as an imminent comprehensive war in Southern Sudan unless his demands are met. Athor is currently in an area between Duk Padiet and Awet.

He also claimed that he is receiving support from within the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

The SPLA spokesperson Kuol Deim Kuol threatened to eliminate Athor's forces by military means if he continues to make ‘false allegations'. However, he stressed that SPLA wants the issue to be resolved peacefully.

Speaking to Miraya, Kuol Deim Kuol denied the presence of Athor's supporters within the SPLA, adding that Athor's forces are not more than a hundred soldiers, and that they have fled to uninhabited areas.

Listen to George Athor

Listen to Kuol Deim Kuol

Read also: Jonglei Governor: SPLA will defend any rebellion against GoSS (11 May, 2010)

Athor Is Ready to Fight SPLA
From SRS (Sudan Radio Service):

Thursday, 13 May 2010 (Nairobi) – The renegade former SPLA lieutenant-general George Athor says he will defend himself if his demands are not met.

Athor whose forces allegedly attacked on SPLA barracks in Doliep Hill last month has been involved in subsequent clashes with SPLA soldiers this month.

In an interview with SRS from an undisclosed location on Wednesday, Athor told SRS producer Daniel Danis that talks between him and the GOSS president-elect are at a standstill.

[George Athor]: “The talks are not going on. They have stopped talking to us and they are attacking us. Not a single soldier can move without the knowledge of the president or the commander-in-chief of the troops.”

[Daniel Danis]: Can you confirm whether you will still maintain your position of defensive and not offensive, because rumors has it that you will probably attack Bor, or any other town within the South.

[George Athor]: “I believe that within days, my attack will be against Bor town because I have learned that Salva is somebody who only likes fighting and he doesn’t want to talk. So it is for him to listen to what we are saying, I am organizing my forces for Bor town.”

[Daniel Danis]: But are you not concern that you might sacrifice the lives of civilians by doing this?

[George Athor]: “Well, my warning to all citizens is that they should leave Bor immediately and any place with military bases, they should leave it, because our target is only the military.”

[Daniel Danis]: Can you really hope to deter or actually fight the SPLA forces?

[George Athor]: “We are not playing chess my brother. Fighting is fighting and I can not tell you how many troops I have.”

[Daniel Danis]: What exactly are you hoping to gain by this action?

[George Athor]: “Our first demand is the abolition of the election results. Because the elections were rigged, and so we don’t recognize it. Second, we want the dissolution of the Government of Southern Sudan, and then all the political parties of southern Sudan should come together to discuss how they can form an interim government that will lead us to the referendum and then elections after the referendum.”

George Athor, a former SPLA lieutenant-general, was talking to SRS on Wednesday.

UN to mediate peace between Gen. Athor and South Sudan
From Sudan Tribune - Thursday 13 May 2010 - excerpt:

Wednesday, 12 May 2010 (JUBA) - Dr. Machar appreciated the efforts the UN team has exerted in their direct contacts with Gen. Athor, but however said the government would first make further consultations and review the situation before he could promise a decision to the UN body.

A follow up joint meeting between the government and UNMIS representatives is expected to take place in the next few days in order to try to agree on the way forward.

Nobody knows the exact location of Gen. Athor who is generally known to be hiding in thick forests somewhere in the north-western part of Jonglei state.

Jonglei Governor: SPLA will defend any rebellion against GoSS
From Radio Miraya - Tuesday, 11 May 2010 22:56:

The Governor-elect of Jonglei State, Kuol Manyang Juuk, has described recent threats made by General George Athor to attack Bor town as a rebellion against the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS). Speaking to Radio Miraya, Juuk said that such threats are not allowed. He added that the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and GoSS will defend anyone who chooses to take up arms against the nation.

However, he downplayed George Athor's threats saying that his forces are 200 Km far from Bor town, adding that Athor's forces are neither in Bor town nor anywhere near.

Earlier, the defeated independent candidate for Jonglei governorship, General George Athor, told Reuters News Agency that he will launch an attack on Bor town.

Click and listen to Jonglei State Governor, Kuol Manyang Juuk

Athor’s threats to attack Jonglei capital amount to rebellion - Governor
From Sudan Tribune - Wednesday 12 May 2010 - excerpt:

Tuesday, 11 May 2010 (BOR) - Athor said he had clashed with SPLA on Monday for the second time and threatened to attack an important town if the assault on his forces persists.

“We are organizing our forces in all areas and we are going to converge in Bor….attacking Bor,” Athor told Reuters adding that he is willing to negotiate.

Reacting to Athor claims, Kuol Manyang told the Sudan Tribune on Monday in Bor that "he (Athor) is far from the state headquarters; about 200 kilometers away," adding he has no forces around Bor town or near Bor town and if he is attacking the State headquarters, then, that is a rebellion that the government of Southern Sudan will not allow.”

"Yes, the State has no forces of its own, but is being defended by the SPLA – by the government of southern Sudan against anybody who takes arms against the nation," Kuol Manyang noted.

Here is a copy of some comments posted at Sudan Tribune article (see above) entitled "Athor’s threats to attack Jonglei capital amount to rebellion - Governor":

12 May 08:42, by Ajawuk Juma
Dear Southerners

The problem of Gen. G. Athor Deng is not between him and the Governor elected Gen. Kuol Manyang Juuk but, the so called SPLM Political Bureau and President Kiir ’s administration who always favor the CPA invited guests over our heros and the free fighters.

According to Mr Deng to whom his mother from te same area with Gen. Athor talked with me in Juba this morning , he said that there is series of negotiations going on between Government of Southern Sudan GOSS and Gen. Athor including some generals in SPLM/A.

Deng told me his father did talk to Gen. Athor over the phone and said that is not the way we solve our differences as Monyjang which always make us to be different from other communities.

This problem is going to be solve soon, so the devil heart people should not be too excited. I heard that they are clubbing everywhere.

You can do some celebration but don’t drink over the limit. Remember guys is a critical times for all of us whether u are traitor or liberarors.

We don’t know where the war against referendum will start whether on the border or within the South.
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12 May 04:19, by thomas
Once men start acting like this, I simply stop listening to them. I don’t care whether Gov. Manyang or Gen. Athor is Governor of Jonglei, I don’t know them and I’m not from there. The only thing I care about is innocent people’s lives, none of this is worth one life. We’ve already lost a few soldiers, let’s mourn them. They had bright futures...

Please, I plead with Jonglei citizens, only you know the root cause of this rivalry. It’s all our responsibility to become agents for tolerance, peace, and love. One by one, that is how voices that spread division and violence are drowned out in a sea of love.
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12 May 05:24, by Gatwech
Dear readers,

Gen. Athor’s war is real!

Please read the new article about its devastation on southsudannation.com under the title, ’Jonglei State: Gen. George Athor’s war is devastatingly unresolved.’
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12 May 07:12, by Gatwech
Dear readers,

Bor town in trouble!

Kuol Manyang Juuk is not a true soldier. He has proved that he was just hiding behind child soldiers and never captured a town or village while at close range of Kenyan borders. Look at his military incompetence! He thinks that 200 kilometers distance between Bor town and where Gen. George Athor is based is like a distance between heaven and earth.

Gen. George Athor can reach Bor town in one day on foot. And surprisingly, he has several trucks to transport his soldiers. The unpaid SPLA soldiers will not fight effectively even if paid now and they may also split themselves on sectional lines like what initially occured between Dinka sectional soldiers in Doleib Hills who shoot at each other leaving 5 officers dead including ten foot soldiers. They took positions on sectional lines.

Bor town will soon be destroyed. I was sure about that when I read it on southsudannation.com that the ring leader Chibitek Mabil, who destroyed Duk county headquarters last year, has now taken thousands of his armed youth to Gen. George Athor, and then promoted as Colonel by Gen. Athor.

Also Thousands of Murle youth are said to have gone missing in Pibor county and may be heading to Gen. George Athor.

Definitely he will attack Bor town and destroy it in the face of SPLA and Kuol Manyang Juuk.

I talked to somebody in Bor town yesterday who confirmed to me that civilians have already started fleeing villages in the outskirt of Bor town and Bor South County.

It is really, very, very serious!!!

You reap what you sow! What goes around comes around. The Ngundeng’s prophesy about the predicted destruction of Bor is now coming to pass!

Watch out!!!
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Athor hints at negotiations after clashes with South Sudan army
From Sudan Tribune by Ngor Arol Garang - Wednesday, 12 May 2010 - excerpt:

Tuesday, 11 May 2010 (WUNROK) - ... However after fresh clash with SPLA forces in Jonglei on yesterday, Athor on Tuesday hinted at possible negotiations with regional authorities but preferred mediation of negotiations by choosing both political and military figures he wanted to mediate his talks with regional authorities.

"If they need any negotiation with us, I have no problem because I have already started receiving calls and began direct communications with many people including Salva Kiir Mayardit," Athor further said that he would like negotiations to be mediated by groups of leaders that he already communicated their names to Juba.

The talks "should be mediated by Lual Diing Wol, James Wani Igga, Benjamin Majak Dau, General Peter Gadet, Paul Mayom Akech and those that I have mentioned in previous communications with authorities in Juba," Athor said.

General Athor, who also declined to mention his whereabouts in the third interview with Sudan Tribune, said his forces are not planning to attack any civil administrative unit or military base. "It is not in our best interest to attack any civil administrative unit nor to attack any military base but we will defend ourselves if attacked," he warned.

"We will not tolerate being attacked. We are being attacked. They attacked us yesterday and have seen how we reacted in self defense," he said.

"Their attacks are beneficial to us because we have yesterday destroyed and captured a lot of vehicles including an anti-aircraft machine gun and our forces have discovered bodies of 33 soldiers with different ranks and three officers. On our side, five soldiers and two officers sustained minor injuries and three at critical conditions."

Colonel Malaak Ayuen Ajok, head of information and public relations in the office of the SPLA spokesman, said SPLA do not have orders to launch offensive attacks on forces loyal to General Athor but have deployed their forces to contain his movement out of the area.

South Sudan: ‘No negotiation with a rebel commander’
From The New Sudan Vision (NSV) by Mading Ngor
Tuesday, 11 May 2010 08:58:

(Victoria BC NSV) - The caretaker minister of legal affairs in the government of southern Sudan, Makuei Lueth, said on Tuesday that there is no negotiation with Gen. George Athor.

“There is no question of sending a delegation to a commander who has mutinied. So there’s nothing like that. He must be crushed militarily,” Minister Makuei told New Sudan Vision from Juba.

“As the Government of Southern, it’s decided that this issue should be addressed militarily,” he said.

Minister Makuei said there have not been negotiations with ‘the renegade general’ from the outset.

“The position of the caretaker Government of southern Sudan since day one has been that this thing should be addressed militarily.

“After all he has killed people, how do we negotiate with him? Is he ready to come and answer for the death of these soldiers, those soldiers whom he killed in cold blood in Doleib, is he ready to answer for them?”

“There’s nothing like that.”

Photo: Caretaker minister of legal affairs and constitutional development, Makuei Lueth (Photo by GoSS)

South Sudanese army caught in fresh fighting
From BBC News, Khartoum by James Copnall at 17:43 GMT,
Wednesday, 12 May 2010 18:43 UK - excerpt:

The south Sudan army says only two of its soldiers died in the latest fighting

There has been fresh fighting in south Sudan between the Southern army and forces loyal to the former general George Athor.

The army has denied claims by Mr Athor that dozens of its soldiers were killed in the clashes in Jonglei state.

Mr Athor was a defeated candidate in April's landmark elections in Sudan, which he insists were rigged.

At least eight people were killed when mutinous troops attacked an army base in Jonglei late last month.

Mr Athor denied leading the troops, but said he sympathised with them.

On Wednesday morning, gunfire was exchanged in Thoudiak between forces belonging to Mr Athor and the Southern army.

The former general said his soldiers fought off a large-scale attack, killing 83 while losing four of his own men.

However, a spokesman for the Southern army said only an 11-man reconnaissance unit had been involved from his side.

He said two of his men had been killed and two wounded.

There was no independent confirmation of the scale of the fighting.

Click on Athor label at the end of this entry to view related reports.

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Ceasefire committee formed to stop the conflict between Murle and Lou-Nuer

From Sudan Radio Service 30 April 2009 (Pibor county):

A ceasefire committee formed to stop the conflict between Murle and Lou-Nuer communities has begun meeting with local authorities community leaders in Pibor county, Jonglei state.

A member of the ceasefire committee, Gatkouth Dup, spoke to Sudan Radio Service by phone from Pibor county on Thursday.

[Gatkouth Dup]: “We formed two committees, the ceasefire committee that I am a member in and the committee that will process the full reconciliation for all the counties in the conflict. That is why we decided to come to Jonglei. We started in Bor and this morning we came to Pibor.

Our mandate is to bring the two communities together, Lou-Nuer and Murle. It is disturbing to hear that our people are killing themselves and we represent them. It’s a concern for all of us. The approach is for the two communities to come together and if they agree then we can bring all the communities such as Dinka, Nuer, Murle and Anyuak communities. All eleven counties should be represented and then we can negotiate for the best reconciliation.”

Dup said the team will spend three days in Pibor then travel to Akobo, Nyirol and Uror counties on the same mission.

The teams were appointed last month by the southern Sudan Peace Commission to find a solution to the conflict between Murle and Lou-Nuer.

Hundreds killed in South Sudan cattle attacks

Hundreds killed in South Sudan cattle attacks
Sun Mar 15, 2009
By Skye Wheeler

JUBA, Sudan, March 15 (Reuters) - Heavily armed fighters have killed more than 200 people in raids on villages in South Sudan, where bloody tribal disputes over cattle are jeopardising peace efforts in the oil-rich region, officials said on Sunday.

The commissioner of Pibor County, Akot M. Adikiu, told Reuters he had seen more than 200 bodies, but had heard reports that hundreds more may have been killed in a string of attacks over the past two weeks.

The surrounding Jonglei State, where Malaysia's Petronas [PETR.UL] is searching for oil and France's Total (TOTF.PA) owns a huge concession, has long been plagued by tribal violence, often sparked by disputes over livestock.

But ethnic fighting has escalated, fuelled by the huge supply of weapons left over from Sudan's two-decade north-south war that ended with a 2005 peace deal.

Africa's longest civil war left painful divisions between ethnic communities that have frustrated efforts to bring peace to South Sudan, in the run up to elections and a referendum on southern independence, both promised under the 2005 accord.

Scores of people have been killed at a time in one-off cattle attacks in South Sudan. But officials said the number of reported deaths in Pibor and the appearance of a coordinated campaign against a series of villages was unusual.

"We believe about 453 people have been killed, based on the bodies and information from chiefs and members from villages," Adikiu said. "Many of the deaths are women and children."

He said at least 17 villages controlled by the Murle tribe were attacked from March 5 to 13 by armed members of the Lou Nuer tribe. He said the attacks were in retaliation for the theft of around 20,000 Lou Nuer cattle in January.

Adikiu said that about 6,000 people had also been displaced by the attacks and thousands of cattle were taken. Cattle are highly prized by southern pastoralists and represent wealth, status as well as stability in fraught times.

The head of South Sudan's U.N. Office of Humanitarian Affairs Andy Pendleton confirmed officers had received reports that a large number of people had been killed in the fighting.

"The situation is rather alarming," he told Reuters. "Usually the fighting is between cattle-guarding combatants. But this time it's different. You also have people caught in the middle and they lost their lives."

U.N. officers have already made a quick visit to the area and are planning to send a full team in to assess humanitarian needs this week, he added.

Analysts have said the fighting could destabilise the south's delicate peace established by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

"The south's government needs to address these internal problems urgently or risk inheriting what some might even call a failed state in 2011," a researcher for Human Rights Watch, who asked not to be named, told Reuters, referring to the date of the south's promised independence referendum.

Efforts by south Sudan's semi-autonomous government to disarm communities have been patchy and in some cases have descended into bloody battles when civilians fight back. (Editing by Andrew Heavens) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: af.reuters.com/)

Jonglei State: 35 people killed, 9 wounded - Attackers in Uror were well-armed, organised and dressed in military uniforms

Government of South Sudan presidential advisor on peace and reconciliation, Ismael Konyi, says disarming civilians in southern Sudan must be speeded up. Uror county commissioner Gatluak Reath Dual is calling for the disarmament process in southern Sudan to be stepped up. From Sudan Radio Service 6 February 2009 - (Nairobi):

Cattle Raiders Kill 35 in Jonglei State

35 people were killed and nine wounded in a series of cattle raids across Jonglei state last Friday.

William Kuol Chuol is the commissioner of Nyirol county, one of 3 counties affected by the raids. Speaking to Sudan Radio Service, he said the raiders were armed, organized, and appear to have come from Pibor county. He alleges the raiders managed to steal over 6000 head of cattle.

Chuol blames the attacks on what he calls ”false assurances” from the GOSS presidential advisor on peace and reconciliation, Ismael Konyi. Kuol charges Konyi and other Murle leaders with promising the Lou-Nuer community that there would be peace and an end to cattle raiding, which led to a false sense of security.

[William Kuol]: “People move to those areas because of the directives from Ismael Konyi, who is the advisor to the presidency for peace in the GOSS. He came to Akobo, Waat and Uror telling people there is peace, and now his word is turning to death. It’s because they were told by Murlei leaders.”

Konyi, who is a Murlei chief, told Sudan Radio Service on Thursday from Khartoum that he is appealing to all Murle to return any stolen cattle.

He said the families of those who have been killed in the raids will be compensated and the raiders will be prosecuted.

[Ismael Konyi]: “I am not happy with Murlei for taking cattle from Lou-Nuer. Those cows should be returned to the Nuer and the people who died should be compensated for. The culprits should face the law. But I have to go to Pibor to solve this problem. Chiefs and the commission of Pibor are working hard to bring back those cattle.”

Konyi also said that the process of disarming civilians in southern Sudan must be speeded up. He was responding to a statement from Uror county commissioner Gatluak Reath Dual, who said the attackers in Uror were well-armed and dressed in military uniforms.

[Gatluak Reath Dual]: “The problem is because disarmament was not done in the whole state here. In 2006, it was done here in Lou [Nuer] areas only. That is why the casualties are more in our side because they don’t have guns to defend themselves. So we cannot blame anybody. The only thing I can say to the government of southern Sudan is to continue with the disarmament program. If they don’t continue, the killing will be worse than before.”

That was Uror county commissioner Gatluak Reath Dual, calling for the disarmament process in southern Sudan to be stepped up.