ConflictBarometer_2015

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
claimed to have killed 189 soldiers, the government counted
four dead soldiers and 24 dead SPLM/A-IO fighters.
On January 21, a reconciliation agreement aiming to reunify
the SPLM party was signed in Arusha, Tanzania. However, six
days later, an SPLM/A-IO attack on a military base in Maridi,
Western Equatoria left six soldiers dead. On February 10, a
large number of SPLA/M-IO fighters attacked army positions
in Obudo county, Upper Nile, and Bentiu, Unity, using heavy
machine guns. Peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, failed on
March 6. In early March, SPLM/A-IO attacked army positions
in Upper Nile and Western Bahr el Ghazal states, killing at
least 15 soldiers. Fighting peaked on March 16 and 17, when
heavy clashes between government troops and SPLM/A-IO
in Renk, Upper Nile, left scores of SPLM/A-IO fighters as well
as government troops dead. On March 27, SPLM/A-IO troops
killed about 150 soldiers in an attack in Ayod County, Jonglei
state, and captured tanks as well as military equipment.
Fighting broke out again on April 21, when government and
SPLM/A-IO forces clashed between Nasir and Malakal, with
the SPLM/A-IO reportedly losing 28 of their fighters. On May
4, opposition forces carried out an attack in Parieng county,
Unity, claiming to have killed 125 soldiers and have wounded
91.
In May, fighting over the Paloch oil fields in Upper Nile
intensified in the context of Major General Johnson Olony's
defection from the SPLM/A. Olony and his Shilluk militia, who
had already been fighting the government between 2010
and 2013, but fought alongside the SPLM/A in 2014, playing
an important role in the defence of Malakal, joined the
SPLM/A-IO on May 15. One day later, SPLM/A-IO forces attacked
government troops in Malakal, inflicting heavy losses
on them. The government confirmed that Malakal had been
captured by SPLM/A-IO. When stray mortar bombs in nearby
Melut hit a UNMISS compound and a civilian housing site on
May 20, four civilians were killed. Government officials were
evacuated. Later that day, opposition forces claimed to have
captured the oil-rich town Melut and the nearby Paloch oil
fields. The government asserted it was in control of the entire
Upper Nile state. On June 3, thousands of government forces
launched a major attack in Rot Riak town, Unity. SPLM/A-IO
took full control of the Unity oil fields, leaving scores of
government soldiers dead. On the same day, government
forces attacked an opposition position in Wau county, Western
Bahr el Ghazal. In August, the USA expanded its economic
sanctions on several high-ranking officials, while the IGAD
renewed its attempts to reach a peace agreement between
the warring factions. On August 20, the SPLM/A-IO and the
Former Detainees (SPLM-FD), also known as G10 group, a
political opposition group to the Kiir regime, signed a peace
agreement in Juba. Salva Kiir, following pressure by UN, USA,
and IGAD, eventually signed the deal on August 26. The
terms of the agreement included an immediate ceasefire,
the installation of a 30-month interim administration, the
de-militarization of Juba, and the consolidation of forces.
Some days later, SPLM/A spokesperson Colonel Philip Aguer
Panyang accused the SPLM/A-IO of attacking a SPLA truck
near Leer county, Unity, thereby violating the ceasefire.
The USA advocated the implementation of a UN arms embargo
for South Sudan in case of violations of the peace
agreement. Neighboring Sudan was repeatedly accused of
delivering arms to SPLM/A-IO forces, with Sudan-produced
ammunition being found in opposition-held areas. Both Sudan
and the SPLM/A-IO denied these claims [→ Sudan South
Sudan]. In the following months, frequency and scope of
attacks decreased. Twelve soldiers were killed, 28 wounded,
and another 50 people were killed when government and
opposition forces clashed in Duar, Unity, in mid-September.
From September 31 to October 2, government and opposition
forces fought in Leer and Koch counties, Unity, leaving 88
SPLM/A-IO forces and twelve soldiers dead. On December 9,
fighting between government and SPLM/A-IO in Wau county,
Western Bahr el Ghazal, displaced at least 2,500 people. By
the end of the year, the number of battle-related deaths
amounted to at least 1,091. The UNHCR registered 264,247
South Sudanese refugees and at least 1.1 million IDPs.
Conflict-induced food insecurity affected 3.9 million people
according to OCHA. Approx. 30,000 faced catastrophic food
insecurity. Estimated tens of thousands of fatalities were
reported since the beginning of the conflict in 2013. des
SOUTH SUDAN (VARIOUS MILITIAS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 2011
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
REMNASA, TFNF vs. government
system/ideology, resources
The conflict over the orientation of the political system and
resources between various militant groups and the government
re-escalated to the level of a violent crisis. In the context
of the war between the government and its opposition faction
SPLM/A-IO leading to growing instability and ethnic tension,
a number of ethnic-based militias formed throughout the
year. [→ South Sudan (SPLM/A-in-Opposition); South Sudan
(inter-communal violence)].
On January 9, a new rebel movement called Revolutionary
Movement for National Salvation (REMNASA) formed in Western
Equatoria state, consisting of defected government forces
and led by former Major Lasuba Lodoru Wongo. On January
19, the movement attacked a Sudan People's Liberation Army
(SPLM/A) unit in Maridi, Western Equatoria, killing six soldiers
and injuring several others as well as stealing arms and ammunition.
REMNASA again attacked the SPLM/A on May 22
in Mundri, Western Equatoria, killing one and temporarily
seizing the local army headquarters. Six days later, one soldier
was killed in a REMNASA attack on government forces
in Yambio, Western Equatoria. On May 29, a large number
of SPLM/A soldiers defected to REMNASA, whereupon the
movement ambushed the SPLM/A on June 6 in Maridi, killing
five soldiers. REMNASA declared the attack a reaction to
previous SPLM/A actions in Maridi, including violence against
civilians and the destruction of infrastructure. On October 28,
REMNASA merged with the SPLM-IO, joining their fight over
national power against the government of President Salva
Kiir.
In October, a new militia called Tiger Faction New Forces
(TFNF) arose out of a group of SPLM/A defectors, whose
members recruited mostly from the Shilluk tribe and opposed
the government's plan to create 28 new states a
move that would divide the Shilluk Kingdom into two parts.
On November 28, the TFNF claimed to have shot down a
helicopter gunship during a government attack on their base
in Upper Nile state.
On February 25, 600 child soldiers were demobilized from a
former armed group associated with the Murle tribe, namely
the South Sudan Democratic Army Cobra Faction of David
Yau Yau. Having signed a peace deal on 05/09/14, the Murle
had been officially granted control over the newly-created
Greater Pibor Area Administration (GPPA) in Jonglei state by
the government. However, a faction of GPPA, who regarded
the special rights and autonomy for the Murle tribe laid down
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