Statement by White Army raises fears of fresh violence following tribal clashes which have already displaced 140,000 people
NAIROBI (AlertNet) – A 30,000-strong ethnic militia, known as the White Army, has announced it plans a major operation in South Sudan’s troubled Jonglei state, raising fears of fresh violence following tribal clashes which have already displaced 140,000 people since December.
The warning comes as aid workers rush to deliver food, shelter and medical supplies to the vast eastern state before March rains make the roads impassable.
The White Army, composed of armed Nuer and Dinka youth, said in a statement posted online that it would launch Operation Savannah Storm on March 1 to secure its territories against Murle youth, accusing them of raiding neighbouring communities.
South Sudan’s Lou Nuer and Murle cattle-herding communities have become involved in a cycle of deadly revenge attacks, initially over water and grazing land. Women and children have been abducted during the conflict.
“Quarantining Murle youth is the effective mechanism that shall prevent them from abducting kids of their neighbors,” said the Feb. 4 statement.
In December, a column of 6,000 to 8,000 Lou Nuer, a subgroup of the Nuer, marched on Murle towns and villages, killing scores of people. The United Nations, with just over 5,000 peacekeepers, was unable to stop them.
South Sudan, which became the world’s newest state last July after a referendum agreed under a 2005 peace deal with Sudan ended decades of civil war, is a poor country awash with weapons. Security is fragile and ethnic rivalries, sharpened by hate speech, are putting a strain on nation-building efforts.
MURLE MUST ‘PAY A PRICE’
The White Army said its new operation would be defensive, not offensive.
“Operation Savannah Storm is different from the operation that was launched in December,” the statement said. “There is no intention to attack Murle’s villages and towns.”
However, the White Army will “look for armed Murle youth in the bushes” and make the Murle “pay a price” for their January attack on the holy city of Wec Deang.
The city is home to a sacred pyramid constructed by the Nuer prophet Ngundeng.
The prophet's grandson recently said: “All the Nuer in USA, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia must come back to South Sudan to join the war against Murle who defiled Nuerland by attacking (the) holy city.”
The White Army also asked Nuer and Dinka soldiers in the South Sudanese army to contribute ammunition and military hardware to the operation.
The expanded militia will also involve Nuer from Ethiopia, according to the statement. It said that a delegation visiting their tribesmen in South Sudan offered to join Operation Savannah Storm as the Murle had also “terrorised” the Ethiopian Nuer and stolen their cattle.
The United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos, who visited Jonglei last week, said the spike in inter-ethnic violence had compounded the difficult humanitarian situation.
“Before the crisis in Jonglei, humanitarian partners were already over-stretched, carrying out some 30 emergency operations across the country,” Amos said.
“In some of the worst-hit areas, there are only a handful of partners on the ground.”
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
