VZCZCXRO6659
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #1169/01 1361737
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 161737Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2857
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 001169 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSTIVIE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINS PHUM MOPS SU
SUBJECT:  ATTEMPTS TO HALT CONFLICT IN UPPER JONGLEI 
 
REF: A. Khartoum 482, B. Khartoum 292 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  There have been clashes between the 
SPLA and Lou Nuer herders associated with the White Army, 
a continuation of conflict that first erupted during 
attempts at disarmament last January (reftels).  Recent 
attempts by the SPLA to again forcibly disarm the White 
Army militia near Toich has resulted in fighting that has 
left about 100 dead, including civilians, and has 
destabilized the Nyirol and Uror areas.  The instigators 
and the chronology of events depend upon who is telling 
the story, but the attempted SPLA disarmament of the 
White Army has clearly inflamed the situation.  The 
international representatives based in Juba are urging a 
halt to military action and a return to dialogue.  End 
summary. 
 
-------------------- 
Chronology of Events 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The latest round of unrest began in late April 
when Lou Nuer herders, many of whom are young men 
affiliated with the White Army tribal militia, refused to 
disarm and then moved their herds west from the arid area 
around Yuai to the banks of the Toich River, forcing 
their way through the normal territory of other groups. 
Vice President Riek Machar, Security and Police Minister 
Daniel Awet, SPLA officers, tribal chiefs, and area MPs 
had held meetings seeking a peaceful solution to the 
contentious migration, including disarmament of the White 
Army.  Some herders reportedly agreed to surrender their 
arms in return for SPLA escort and protection, but  when 
teams of chiefs, SPLA officers, and White Army 
representatives went to collect the arms from various 
cattle camps, some agreed (and turned over 700 arms) 
while others refused, saying disarmament would prevent 
them from protecting their herds from rival groups. 
 
¶3. (SBU) SPLA troops escorting the disarmed groups 
reportedly began requisitioning as many as 30 cattle per 
day for food.  The herders complained, then drove their 
herds to join other camps that had not disarmed.  SPLA 
troops followed the retreating Lou toward the armed 
camps, where a SPLA reconnaissance force stumbled into a 
White Army force.  In the ensuing clash, the White Army 
defeated the SPLA force.  The next morning, on or about 
April 26, a reinforced SPLA force with truck-mounted 
heavy weapons attacked a camp and defeated the White 
Army.  Forty-three herders were killed in the fighting, 
including six women and two children.  When the Lou 
fighters fled the scene, the SPLA reportedly seized the 
cattle left behind. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The White Army counterattacked and in turn 
defeated the SPLA, which suffered an unknown number of 
casualties.  Jonglei Governor Philip Thon Leek dispatched 
the Jonglei State Minister of Social Development, the 
Commissioner for Peace, and two area MPs to the area to 
negotiate a settlement.  The SPLA detained the group 
briefly before allowing them to meet with the White Army 
and tribal leaders.  The delegation warned the herders 
that they risked losing their cattle if they continued to 
fight, and the herders proposed that they move toward the 
traditional Lou area, where they felt more secure, at 
which time they would discuss disarmament. 
 
¶5. (SBU) The SPLA reportedly renewed the fighting on or 
about May 7 as the negotiations took place, and in the 
ensuing combat an estimated 51 additional herders were 
killed.  Munitions exhausted, the White Army fighters 
retreated, leaving cattle and families behind.  They 
later claimed that two tribal leaders sent back to 
negotiate with the SPLA were shot and unknown parties 
seized large numbers of cattle from the Nuer women who 
were bringing the cattle back to Lou.  For security 
reasons, the UN withdrew its staff and NGOs from the 
area.  According to the most recent report on the 
situation, Lou Nuer herders are moving through arid 
country as their herds begin to suffer from lack of 
water.  The SPLA has stopped its pursuit of the Lou Nuer 
and is now collecting cattle, which they reportedly 
intend to return to the herders.  The exact nature of the 
fighting and the total number casualties remains unknown. 
 
---------------- 
The Significance 
---------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Gatkouth Duop Kuich, the MP from Waat, told CG 
that he had not gotten a sympathetic hearing from either 
the Minister for Cabinet Affairs Justin Yaac or Vice 
 
KHARTOUM 00001169  002 OF 002 
 
 
President Machar when he returned to Juba from Waat and 
requested that the GoSS order the SPLA to desist from 
further attempts at disarmament.  Kuich claimed that 
Machar told him that the SPLA must continue to press for 
disarmament; Kuich pushed instead for a period of calm 
during which the retreating herders could be provided 
humanitarian assistance as a first step toward renewed 
negotiations.  He said that if the SPLA persists with 
forced disarmament, the White Army would not easily give 
up. 
 
¶7. (SBU) There is a possibility that the conflict could 
widen to include other groups.  Holdout South Sudan 
Defense Force (SSDF) militia commanded by Gordon Kong and 
Thomas Mabior operate north of the Lou area and could 
ostensibly attempt to provide ammunition to the White 
Army to rally them to the SSDF side.  Simon Gatwich, the 
former SSDF Lou Nuer leader and now SPLA general, is 
reportedly very unhappy with the course of events.  Some 
of his former SSDF fighters who followed him to the SPLA 
remain encamped north of the Lou area, not yet integrated 
into the SPLA, and theoretically could become involved as 
well.  Deputy SPLA Commander Paulino Matip, who brought 
the bulk of the SSDF over to the SPLA, is also 
displeased.  Kuich claimed that Matip told him that if 
the SPLA stops its activities, he would personally travel 
north to help calm the situation. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The recent fighting is part of a complicated 
historical chain dating back to 1991, when Machar split 
from the main body of the SPLM and, along with others, 
armed the White Army to protect the Lou Nuer, who were 
neglected by both the SPLA and Khartoum.  The result was 
a largely apolitical, but heavily armed tribal militia 
that provided protection for cattle camps, but also 
engaged in notorious cattle raiding against neighboring 
groups, including their traditional rivals, the Dinka 
Bor.  Neither side is blameless in this long cycle of 
violence, but the heavy-handed SPLA attempt to force 
disarmament in an area that it has never controlled fully 
certainly helped trigger the latest violence. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The international community in Juba, including 
the U.S., has used high-level contacts with the GoSS to 
urge restraint and a return to negotiation before the 
violence intensifies.  We will continue to pursue this 
outcome.  End comment. 
 
HUME