| Country: | Sudan |
| Details of Formation: | On March 27, 1993, the SPLM/A-Nasir merged their forces with the forces of former rebel leader Kerubino Kwanyin Bol and Wiliam Nyuon Bany (Human Rights Watch 2003). The resulting group was called SPLM/A-United and was first announced at a press conference in Nairobi on April 5, 1993. |
| Details of Termination: | In 1994, the SPLM/A-United slowly disintegrated. In February, Lam Akol was expulsed from the group. In July, Commander Arok Thuon Arok also quit the group. In August 1994, government forces attacked the SPLM/A-United, evidencing that it ceased to support that group. After government defection, the group splintered further. Riek Machar renamed his part of the group Southern Sudan Independence Movement (SSIM). Commanders William Nyuon Beny and Kerubino Kuuanyin Bol became part of the government’s coalition against the SPLA. Kerubino called his faction Sudan People's Liberation Army - Bahr el Ghazal Group (cf. separate PGM entry). Lam Akol later called his factions SPLM/A-United (coded as separate PGM, SPLM/A-United Lam Akol), but only after the actual SPLM/A-United had ceased to exist. |
| Purpose: | The main purpose of the SPLM/A-United was to fight the SPLA rebels of John Garang. |
| Organisation: | The main leaders of the SPLM/A-United, in descending order of importance, were Riak Machar, Kerubino Kwanyin Bol, William Nyuon Bany and Arok Thuon Arok. Lam Akol had been a commander until he was sacked in February 1994. Since its formation, the SPLM/A-United met with government representatives for talks. The government in Khartoum supplied the SPLM/A-United not only with weapons, but also with money. |
| Weapons and Training: | The SPLM/A-United received weapons from the Sudanese government, including small arms, ammunition and 105mm artillery pieces. |
| Size: | -- |
| Reason for Membership: | -- |
| Treatment of Civilians: | -- |
| Other Information: | All parties making up this joint group split from Garang and fought his SPLA group, therefore ethnicity of target coded as Dinka. The SPLM/A-United was predominantly Nuer (Machar’s faction) and Shilluk (Lam Akol’s faction). The headquarters of the SPLM/A-United were in Waat. |
| References: |
Human Rights Watch. 2003. “Sudan, Oil and Human Rights.” ISBN: 1564322912 Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD |