imeline: South Sudans year at war JUBA (15 Dec.) A timeline of the key events in the last year of war in South Sudan: 14-15 December: The SPLM National Liberation Council meets in Juba amid sharp division. Party chairman and South Sudanese president Salva Kiir slams his foes for ‘indiscipline’ and joins in the singing of a Dinka war song. 15 December: Several leading party members boycott the meeting of the SPLM National Liberation Council as Kiir’s supporters push through approval of a controversial version of the party constitution. 15 December, evening: On the closing day of the SPLM NLC meeting, some members of the SPLA Presidential Guard are disarmed, allegedly on the basis of ethnicity. A fight ensues between Dinka and Nuer members of the unit. 16 December: Fighting between SPLA loyal to Salva Kiir and SPLA loyal to Riek Machar breaks out again in the early morning at military installations in Juba and spreads to other units. 16 December: After pro-Machar troops are dislodged from the Bilpham barracks, pro-Kiir SPLA soldiers ‘swarm’ into neighborhoods in Juba conducting house-to-house searches for ethnic Nuers, “killing, looting, and conducting arbitrary arrests.” 16 December, 8:00 p.m.: Hundreds of Nuer men are gathered into a police building in the Gudele neighborhood of Juba and massacred. 16-18 December: Eleven top politicians are arrested by the government and accused of plotting a coup against Salva Kiir. The arrested include: Deng Alor Kuol, Gier Chuang Along, Kosti Manibe, Cirino Hiteng, Madut Biar Yel, Peter Adwok Nyaba (later released for health reasons), John Luk Jok, Pag’an Amum Okeich, Majak DAgoot, Oyai Deng Ajak, and Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth. 17-18 December: Truckloads of bodies are seen moving through Juba. Thousands of civilians flood to two UNMISS bases in Juba for protection. 17-18 December: Defectors from SPLA 8th Division led by Peter Gadet take control of Bor, the state capital of Jonglei. 19 December: Two UN peacekeepers from India as well as up to two dozen Dinka civilians are massacred when a Nuer militia forces its way into the UN base in the Jonglei town of Akobo. 20 December: Oil workers evacuate from Unity State 21 December: Defected troops claim control of Bentiu, capital of Unity State. 24 December: Government retakes Bor. 25 December: Malakal falls to Opposition forces. Government troops retake the town three days later. 30 December: Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni vows “to defeat Machar.” 31 December: Kiir’s forces lose control of Bor for the second time. Early January: Heavy fighting in Mayom, Unity state as government forces advance on bentiu. Bentiu falls to Kiir’s forces on the 9th. Early January: Soldiers in Yei, Morobo, and Mundri defect to the opposition. 14 January: SPLA-IO takes Malakal. Government troops retake the town five days later. 19 January: Peter Gadet’s forces withdraw from Bor following attacks by Uganda and the SPLA-Juba. Rebel forces are accused of committing widespread atrocities, including massacring people in a church and raping and killing hospital patients in their beds. 23 January: The warring parties sides sign a cessation of hostilities agreement in Addis Ababa. Late January: Kiir’s forces launch offensive on Leer, Unity State, the hometown of Machar. The hospital is razed to the ground and thousands of civilians flee. Rebels accuse the Darfuri Justice and Equality Movement rebels of fighting alongside the government. 29 January: Government releases seven of the eleven detainees. The remaining four are former SPLM secretary general Pagan Amum, former national security minister Oyai Deng Ajak, ex-ambassador to the US Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, and former deputy defense minister Majak DAgoot. 2 February: East African ceasefire monitors deploy to the country. 18 February: Malakal falls to SPLA-IO. Reports of civilian massacres inside the town’s churches. 11 March: Treason trial opens against four remaining detainees. 19 March: Kiir’s forces regain control of Malakal. 15, 16 April: SPLA-In Opposition storms through Bentiu. “Hundreds” of civilians are massacred, many in the mosque. One UN official describes “piles and piles” of bodies in the streets. 17 April: Over 60 civilians killed when a pro-government militia overruns the UN base in Bor. Some civilians are saved when unarmed humanitarians stand up to gunmen. 25 April: Treason charges are dropped against four remaining detainees. They leave for Nairobi and Addis Ababa to form the G-11 Former Detainees group. Late April: Troops defect from Mapel and Wau in Western Bahr al Ghazal state after clashes with loyalist soldiers. 2 May: John Kerry meets Kiir. The top American diplomat affirms Kiir’s legitimacy as president. Kiir then launches a major offensive against rebel positions in Unity and Jonglei states. 4-5 May: SPLA captures Nasser and Bentiu from the rebels. JEM rebels are filmed using the UN base in Bentiu as a human shield. 6 May: The United States government places a travel ban and asset freeze on Major General Marial Chanuong Yol Mangok and General Peter Gadet Yaak. Marial is the commander of Kiir’s Presidential Guard, while Gadet is a leading rebel commander. The US later added Major General James Koang Chuol, the SPLA-IO Military Governor of Unity State, and Major General Santino Deng Wol, a prominent SPLA-Juba commander, to their sanctions list. The European Union would also sanction Santino Deng and Gadet. Canada would sanction Marial and Gadet as well. 9 May: Kiir and Machar meet in Addis Ababa and recommit to ending the war. The agreement is broken within hours 15 May: Ministry of Health declares a cholera outbreak in South Sudan Early June: Mass desertions of SPLA-Juba troops on Jonglei front Early July: Central Equatoria Governor Clement Wani is at odds with Salva Kiir over Wani’s demand for more state-level autonomy. Troops are deployed to the governor’s home town Terekeka. Wani defies the president saying, “Nobody can sit on my head.” The situation is eventually diffused, but not resolved. June/July: An influx of civilians into the Bentiu UN base drives the camp’s population over 40,000. Up to three children die each day inside the base from malnutrition and disease as conditions deteriorate. 26 August: A UN helicopter is shot down near Bentiu in Unity State, killing three Russian crew members and injuring another. The UN has yet to release findings of its investigation into which side is responsible. 12-18 October: The three SPLM factions meet in Arusha, Tanzania for a conference aimed at reconciling the broken party. The factions admit responsibility for the war. 29 October: Rebels launch offensive on Bentiu and Rubkona but fail to take the town after days of heavy fighting. 9 November: Kiir and Machar hold one-on-one talks without participation of any other stakeholders. They fail to reach a power-sharing agreement. IGAD threatens sanctions, regional intervention, and referral to the African Union and the UN Security Council if the two men do not reach a deal within 15 days, or if they break the ceasefire. 24 November: 15 day deadline passes. IGAD, the AU, and the UN Security Council do not act. 27 November: SPLA attacks northern Jonglei from Upper Nile bases. Clashes last for days. The UN says the violence is the “most sustained fighting since May.” 15 December: South Sudan marks one year of war. File photo: A tank in the streets of Juba, 16 December 2013 (Reuters/Hakim George
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 13:13:55 +0000
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