Pro-Government Militias
South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SSLM/A) (Sudan)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 268 |
| Country: | Sudan |
| Date formed: | Oct. 25, 2002 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | The SSLM/A was formed after the Lou Nuer peace and governance conference in Waat, Upper Nile, in November 1999 by Michael Wal Duany. The SSLM/A was announced to the public in late January 2000. It was supposed to be a new political arm of the Upper Nile Provisional Military Command Council, an anti-government pro-southern independence unified military force. As such, it was an active rebel group against the Sudanese government. In 2002, the SSLM/A signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement with the government (Human Rights Watch 2003). News sources refer to the group as being pro-government since 2002. |
| Date dissolved: | July 9, 2011 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | The PGM SSLM/A was last mentioned in 2003, but there is no indication how or whether the group was terminated. The SSLM/A as PGM is coded terminated with South Sudan’s independence in 2011. In 2011, shortly before South Sudan’s independence, a former militia leader called Peter Gadet left the SPLA and formed a group called South Sudan Liberation Army (SSLA) (Amnesty International 2012) Despite the coincidence of the name, there is no evidence that this group was the same or a revival of the SSLM/A which had been active in the early 2000s. |
| Termination Type(s): | border change |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | yes |
| Former Armed Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no information |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | no | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | state (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | no information |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | no |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ethnic; former rebels |
| Primary Membership: | ethnic |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Southern Sudan (Upper Nile, Jonglei) |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, 1700] |
| Target(s): | rebels, insurgents, or other armed group |
| Purpose(s): | self-defense and security; fight insurgents |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | Nuer (Sudan); Other Southern groups (Sudan); Dinka (Sudan); Shilluk (Sudan) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | given |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | The South Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SSLM/A) coded as PGM here is not the same group as the SSLA formed by Peter Gadet in April 2011. In the early 1970s, the Anyanya forces has also been known as SSLM. Neither should the group be confounded with the SLM/A (a rebel group in Darfur), nor the SLM/A-MM, which is a splinter of the SLM/A but was a PGM between 2006-2010 (cf separate PGM entry). |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The group fought against the SPLM/A together with other PGMs. Although sources do not state it directly, it is likely that the SSLM/As purpose was to fight insurgents, similarly to most other government allied PGMs. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | unknown |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: | In an attack in 2003, the SSLM/A attacked with about 1,700 soldiers. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: |
Organisation
| Organisation: | Michael Wal Duany was the chairman and commander-in-chief of the SSLM/A. The cooperation with the government began after the SSLM/A signed the Khartoum Peace Agreement with the Sudanese government (Human Rights Watch 2003) |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.