| Country: | Sudan |
| Details of Formation: | The SPLA Bahr el Ghazal was loyal to warlord Kerubino Kwanyin Bol. Kerubino joined Riek Machar’s SPLM/A-United in 1993. SPLM/A-United splintered in 1994 into several factions and Kerubino’s Dinka militia began to be directly supplied by the Sudanese army from his home in Gogrial town in Bahr el Ghazal (Human Rights Watch). |
| Details of Termination: | In 1997, the SPLA Bahr el Ghazal signs the Khartoum Agreement together with other PGMs. It stipulated that the SPLA Bahr el Ghazal should be united under a singular command of the SSDF/USDF umbrella PGM. In January 1998, SPLA’s commander Kerubino defected to the SPLA. He split from the SPLA later that year, took refuge with Paulino Matiep, his in-law, but was killed by forces of Peter Gatdet who mutinied against Paulino Matiep in September 1999. After Kerubino had left the SPLA Bahr el Ghazal in January 1998, Lawrence Lual Lual took over the command of the SPLA Bahr el Ghazal. Lawrence Lual Lual left the SSDF/USDF in October 1998 because Riek Machar had removed all of Lual’s nominees from government posts. 400 out of Lual’s 1,500 fighters were reported to be loyal to pro-government Paulino Matiep (Human Rights Watch). There is no information what allegiance the other fighters took. The SPLA Bahr el Ghazal is not mentioned anymore in news sources after these occurrences. |
| Purpose: | The SPLA Bahr el Ghazal supported the government to protect the country’s eastern border with Ethiopia. Although there is no explicit information, it can be assumed from the context and from similar PGMs that a major purpose of the SPLA Bahr el Ghazal was to help fight rebel groups. |
| Organisation: | The leader of the SPLA Bahr el Ghazal Group was Kerubino Kwanyin Bol (for background information on Kerubino cf. other information variable). Although the PGM received army support (material and logistics) since 1994, the group signed the Peace Charter with Khartoum in 1996. As a reward, Kerubino was made a brigadier and was later promoted to major-general. After Kerubino defected to the SPLA in January 1998, Cmdr. Lawrence Lual Lual became leader of the SPLA Bahr el Ghazal (Human Rights Watch). |
| Weapons and Training: | The PGM was directly supplied by the Sudanes army from the garrison town of Gorgrial in Bahr el Ghazal (Human Rights Watch). |
| Size: | There are no estimates on group size during SPLA Bahr el Ghazal’s PGM time. After Kerubino had defected in January 1998 and his successor commander Lawrence Lual Lual defected in October 1998 with the remaining SPLA Bahr el Ghazal, Lawrence Lual Lual claimed to have 1,500 forces (Human Rights Watch). It is likely that this number had been higher before Kerubino had defected. |
| Reason for Membership: | -- |
| Treatment of Civilians: | In 1996, SPLA Bahr el Ghazal seized a Red Cross aircraft transporting wounded Sudanese soldiers. They arrested all people on the aircraft, including the pilots (US and Kenyan citizens). The hostages were beaten and threatened with death. Together with Northern nomads, the SPLA Bahr el Ghazal looted the Bahr el Ghazal region and burnt crops and grain stores. These continued actions are considered essential factors that led to a famine in the region in 1998 which killed 60,000 people. In their raids, Kerubino allowed his fighters to loot and to rape civilians. The government tolerated Kerubino’s actions, including his hostage taking of the Red Cross aircraft crew, because he conducted a scorched earth campaign against the Dinka, his own ethnicity (Human Rights Watch). |
| Other Information: | The SPLA Bahr el Ghazal Group is sometimes also referred to as SPLA/BEG, SPLA Bahr al-Ghazal or Kerubino Group. Commander Kerubino is also known as Kerbino. He was an Anyanya officer, but after 1972 he was incorporated into the Sudanese army. Later, he was leader of Bor mutineers which lead to the creation of the SPLA in 1983. In 1987, Kerubino was jailed by Garang for conspiracy, but Kerubino escaped from prison in 1992 to join Riek Machar’s breakaway SPLA in 1993. He was a warlord most interested in maintaining his power base and wealth and therefore allowed his supporters to loot in Bahr el Ghazal (Human Rights Watch). Kerubino was a member of the Dinka tribe. |
| References: |
Human Rights Watch. 2003. “Sudan, Oil and Human Rights.” ISBN: 1564322912 Information was taken from news sources listed in the PGMD |