| Country: | Sudan |
| Details of Formation: | The Fertit militamen are established as a response to the perceived threat by the The government began to arm the Fertit Militiamen in 1986 (Africa Watch Committee 1990). Activities are first reported by news sources in 1987. |
| Details of Termination: | In 1989, the Fertit became part of the Popular Defense Forces (Human Rights Watch 1996). The Fertit militia is still referred to as an independent group afterwards. In November 1990, the Fertit militiamen deserted the government and joined the SPLA rebels. There is no evidence that the Fertit were pro-government and not part of the SPLA between 1990-1997. In November 1997, the chief of general staff inspected the Fertit’s forces in Waw town and praised their role in defending the peace agreement, which is taken as evidence for the Fertit being pro-government. In 2007, the Fertit militia joined the SPLA again and ceased to be pro-government. |
| Purpose: | The government said that the purpose of the Fertit militiamen was for them to protect themselves against rebel attacks. Evidence suggests that the Fertit’s main purpose was to fight against the SPLA alongside government troops during the civil war in southern Sudan. |
| Organisation: | The government provided the Fertit with arms and logistics. The Sudanese Armed Forces were tasked with overseeing PGM operations in the south, though in reality they gave the militias free rein. While the Fertit acted independently from the army just after their formation, they closely cooperated from early 1987 onwards. The Fertit Militiamen’s commander in the late 1980s was Captain Raphael Kitang, a retired army officer (Africa Watch Committee 1990). After 1997, the PGM’s commander was Al-Tawm al-Nur, who was soon integrated into the regular Sudan armed forces in the rank of major-general. Nevertheless, he continued to command the Fertit militiamen. |
| Weapons and Training: | While initially armed with British Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifles from both world wars, the Fertit militia’s weapons were replaced with Kalashnikovs and other automatic weapons by 1987. They received arms from the Sudanese government. The cooperation with the Sudanese army allowed the Fertit to use their tanks (Africa Watch Committee 1990). In 1999, there is evidence that the Fertit peace army received training by government forces alongside other PGMs (Human Rights Watch 2004) |
| Size: | There are no exact estimates of membership. In the late 1980s, the Fertit militiamen regularly clashed with Dinkas in Wau, leaving in August 1988 1,000 people dead and in September 2,000 dead (on both sides), which suggests a rather large membership. When the Fertit joined the SPLA in 2007 it had 200 soldiers. |
| Reason for Membership: | -- |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The Fertit militiamen are accused of indiscriminate killing and torturing civilians, including the killing of children and women. In 1987, they committed a massacre of hundreds of Dinka civilians in way alongside the Sudanese army (Africa Watch Committee 1990). News sources confirm these killings and mention that Fertits were looting and destroying Dinka homes and kidnapped civilians. A news source from 1998 indicates that the Fertit militiamen continued the killing and looting after becoming a PGM again in 1997. It also suggests forced disappearance of more than 150 Dinka students by Fertit militiamen. The renewed violence by the Fertit militiamen in 1998 occurred in response to orders by the government to target any ethnic Dinka in Wau Town in retaliation for a SPLA attack. |
| Other Information: | The Fertit Miliitamen are also known as Peace Forces, Jesh al Salam or Peace Army (Africa Watch Committee 1990). The Fertits are mostly farmers by trade live in small towns and villages; they are a Muslim tribe. They used the weapons they were provided with also to wage wars against other tribes such as the Dinka, the Nuer and the Shilluk. |
| References: |
Africa Watch Committee. 1990. “Denying ‘The Honor of Living’: Sudan, a Human Rights Desaster.“ ISBN 0-929692-53-5 Human Rights Watch 1996. “Behind the Red Line. Political Repression in Sudan.” ISBN 1-56432-164-9 Human Rights Watch. 2004. “Sudan: Peace, but at What Price?” https://www.hrw.org/news/2004/06/14/sudan-peace-what-price |