| Country: | Sudan |
| Details of Formation: | After southern mutiny and the resumption of war in 1983, the government of Jafa’ar Nimeiri began to arm Baggara nomadic cattle herders of southern Kordofan and Darfur, referred to Murahaleen (Human Rights Watch 2003). The use of the Murahaleen by the government became more significant in 1985. Tribal leaders participated in the mobilization of this militia force, but ultimately the Sudanese government and army organized and supplied the group. Subsequent governments continued to support the Murahaleen (Bureau of African Affairs 2002). |
| Details of Termination: | In 1989, the Murahaleen were incorporated into the Popular Defence Forces (PDF). But sources refer to the Murahaleen as an independently acting PGM. There is no evidence that suggests that the Murahaleen ceased to be a PGM. However, but their importance decreased over time. |
| Purpose: | The main purpose of the Murahaleen was to fight the SPLM/A rebels. Additionally, Murahaleen were engaged by the government to protect a seasonal military supply train between Babanusa and Wau (Bureau of African Affairs 2002). The government also aligned with the Murahaleen to give them the opportunity to loot their richer neighbors in the South, diminishing the potential threat impoverished Murahaleen could pose. This strategy yielded access to Southern resources such as oil, water and grazing land. In the early 1980s, the government also tasked the Murahaleen with protecting oil fields of the Chevron company (Human Rights Watch 2003). News sources report that the government used the Murahaleen to harass Dinka civilians. Murahaleen were also used to increase instability in Southern Sudan and make the area ungovernable for the incoming SPLM/A administration. Mobilizing the Murahaleen was cheaper for the government than using the army and allowed the government to dismiss the war as a ‘tribal problem’ unrelated to national policies. The government could deny responsibility of violence the Murahaleen committed, which was a major reason for them being used to accompany the military supply train (Bureau of African Affairs 2002). The government used the Murahaleen to do the fighting and thereby kept their Northern conscripts away from the frontline. |
| Organisation: | The Murahaleen were organized and supplied by the Sudanese government and the Sudanese army, while tribal leaders participated in its mobilization. Support for the Murahaleen grew during Sadiq al Mahdi's government, whose Umma party was in turn supported by the Baggara and Murahaleen. The army became preoccupied with this Umma-Murahaleen relationship, and as pressure grew the National Salvation government passed the National Popular Defense Act to regularize militias. The Act legalized the Popular Defense Force (PDF) to assist army operations, and the Murahaleen became part of the PDF. Consequently, the relationship between official forces and militias blurred even more. As the Murahaleen continue to act independently from the PDF, it is reasonable to assume that this act was rather pro-forma to satisfy criticism. The Sudanese army regularly conducts joint actions with PDF and Murahaleen. (Bureau of African Affairs 2002). Murahaleen received the permission to steal from the Nuer and Dinka goods and people (as slaves) in return for their service to the government (Human Rights Watch 2003). They are led by the hardline Muslim Sultan Abd al-Baqi Ayiei and his son Husayn Abd al-Baqi. |
| Weapons and Training: | The state and central government supplied the Murahaleen with automatic weapons (Human Rights Watch 2003). |
| Size: | One news source from 1989 reports an attack by 3,000 Murahaleen militia members. |
| Reason for Membership: | Members of the Murahaleen were usually not paid regular salaries. Instead, they were compensated with cash incentives from the Ministry of Defense (especially since late 2000) and had the permission to loot. Between 1985 and 1988, the government’s interests coincided with the interest of the Baggara, who had been heavily affected by the 1984/1985 Sahelian drought. During the raids into Dinka territory, the Baggara could take cattle and abduct civilians as slaves. The gains from looting and abducting people were the most important incentive for joining the Murahaleen. By taking part in the Murahaleen, it was possible to protect one’s tribe against the SPLM/A. (Bureau of African Affairs 2002) |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The Murahaleen were known for abducting civilians. They transferred the abductees to other communities, subjecting them to unpaid forced labor, renaming, forced religious conversion, involuntary circumcision and the like. Their practice of abduction amounted to enslavement (Bureau of African Affairs 2002); some of the abducted disappeared. News sources from the late 1980s report that the Murahaleen prevented the local population from taking water from the river and water wells, leading to many people dying of thirst. In the 1990s, the Murahaleen, in concert with the army, engaged in massive forced displacements in Western Upper Nile/Unity State (Human Rights Watch 2003). Murahaleen raided villages where they looted property and abducted, raped, mutilated and killed civilians. The raids occurred on such a large scale that they are considered to have caused famine and widespread displacement in northern Bahr al Ghazal in 1986 and 1987 famine. The government did not prevent the Murahaleen from committing the crimes and continued to supply them with weapons. In some cases the army and the Murahaleen engaged in joint attacks against civilian targets (Bureau of African Affairs 2002). Murahaleen were granted full impunity for their actions (Human Rights Watch 2003). |
| Other Information: | The term Murahaleen originally refers to young men who travel ahead of their family and their cattle to protect the migration routes and to identify pasture and upcoming threats. The Murahaleen militia is also known as Baggara militia, quwat al fursan (horse mounted forces, Rizeigat al fusan (meaning brave) and um bagha (refers to a water bottle carried by the militia) (Bureau of African Affairs 2002). Alternative spellings include Murahilyn, Murahilin, Murahiliin and Muraheleen. Murahaleen are recruited from Arab nomads from the Baggarah (Arabic for cattle herders) people, composed of several tribes (Missiriya, Zaghawah, Rizaygat, etc). |
| References: |
Bureau of African Affairs. 2002. “Slavery, Abduction and Forced Servitude in Sudan.” May 22. https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/af/rls/rpt/2002/10445.htm Human Rights Watch. 2003. “Sudan, Oil and Human Rights.” ISBN: 1564322912 Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD |