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.
Background
Rivalries and violence between various ethnic groups have a long history in South Sudan. Many minorities in the country believe that their communities are threatened and marginalized by the Dinka people who have traditionally dominated the administration of southern Sudan. The Fertit are one such minority, and mostly concentrated in areas of former Western Bahr el Ghazal, including Wau State. The animosity between Dinka and Fertit became deeply entrenched during the Second Sudanese Civil War, when the Dinka-dominated Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) waged a rebellion against the Sudanese government. Many Fertit opted to stay loyal to Sudan or remain neutral, as they feared suppression at the hands of the Dinka in an independent South Sudan. The SPLA responded by attacking Fertit as perceived enemies of the rebellion, causing militant Fertit to organize the so-called Army of Peace in self-defense. This militia then became involved in widespread massacres of Dinka from 1986, worsening ethnic relations even further.
Increasing violence in Wau State
In 2015, the South Sudanese government and the SPLM-IO signed the ARCSS peace deal in an attempt to end the civil war. Both sides used concessions in the agreement to their advantage, however, and the agreement gradually fell apart. Wau State was an area which was affected by the ARCSS. The SPLM-IO mobilized forces in Wau, and then demanded that these rebels were granted cantonment zones and be included in the ARCSS' security provisions. This was unacceptable to Gen. Paul Malong Awan, the SPLA's chief of staff, who responded by mobilizing loyal army elements such as Mathiang Anyoor units. He then circumvented the formal chain of command, and ordered these SPLA troops to crush the opposition by force, even though the peace agreement was still in force. This resulted in growing ethnic tensions in Wau State from early December 2015. The SPLA soldiers deployed to the region for counter-insurgency operations mostly belonged to tribes from Northern Bahr el Ghazal and Warrap, while the local SPLM-IO fighters intensified their operations.
On 2 December, the SPLM-IO reportedly attacked government units at Busseri and Firka, causing the SPLA to send reinforcements to these area, which were in turn ambushed and defeated by the rebels. Three days later, clashes between rebel and government fighters broke out around Bisellia, Bazia, Faraj Allah, Bringi, Mapel, and the Bo River Post. Amid the fighting there were reports that the Ugandan People's Defence Air Force and/or the South Sudan Air Force conducted aerial attacks against both rebel as well as civilian targets using attack helicopters. The UNO consequently criticised the SPLA for breaching the national ceasefire by conducting offensive operations.
At the same time, Human Rights Watch reported that the newly deployed government soldiers, mostly Dinka, began to abuse the local Fertit population, forcing tens of thousands to flee Wau. Many civilians were arrested and then murdered as purported SPLM-IO supporters. Governor Elias Waya Nyipuoc admitted that by 30 May 2016, he had confirmed that at least 100 civilians had been murdered by SPLA soldiers, and had reported the cases to the government. Unable to stop them, he said that the soldiers probably abused the local population because the government had failed to pay or feed them. This caused them to rob what they needed. Waya argued that this behavior was to be expected when the government neglected their military forces. The SPLA leadership, meanwhile, denied that any abuses at the hands of SPLA soldiers had taken place in Wau. In addition to the violence of the SPLA against civilians, no progress was made in the attempts to enforce the ceasefire between the SPLA and local SPLM-IO groups, as the government denied that the SPLM-IO had any presence in the whole Bahr el Ghazal region to which Wau State belongs. As result, no agreement for SPLM-IO cantonment areas in Wau State was reached. On 9 April, the SPLA command even announced that they would launch an offensive in Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria to destroy all SPLM-IO units in these regions.