Pro-Government Militias
Mundari Commandos (Sudan)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 281 |
| Country: | Sudan |
| Date formed: | Feb. 1, 1985 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | In the mid-1980s, the Sudanese government began to arm ethnic/tribal militias in order to contain the SPLM/A. While the Mundari were an existing ethnic group, the government has been the main actor that organized the Mundari into an armed militia. In 1985 news sources first mention that the government armed the Mundari tribe. |
| Date dissolved: | July 9, 2011 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | In May 2006, some Mundari Commandos joined the rebel SPLM against which they had previously fought. One news source suggests that this change in loyalty came with an allocation of salary to those Mundari Commandos by the Government of Southern Sudan. However, not all Mundari Commandos became rebels; the factions of their main commander, Major General Clement Wani did not join the rebel Southern Sudan government troops. The date coded as terminated is the date when South Sudan became independent from Sudan. As the group was mainly active in Southern Sudan and there are no reports about the group being active in Sudan after 2011, it ceases to exist as a domestic PGM on that day. We found no evidence that the Mundari Commandos loyal to the 2006 South Sudanese government and the SPLM became independent PGMs after independence. |
| Termination Type(s): | border change |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | no |
| Former Armed Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | yes | Main Creating Government Institution: | state (institution) |
| Government Link(s): | state (institution); military (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | no |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government; military |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ethnic |
| Primary Membership: | ethnic |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Southern Sudan (Central Equatoria, Western Equatoria) |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, 1000] |
| Target(s): | civilians; rebels, insurgents, or other armed group; ethnic group |
| Purpose(s): | self-defense and security; fight insurgents |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | Dinka (Sudan) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | given |
| Ethnic Membership: | Other Southern groups (Sudan) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | given |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | The Mundari Commandos are also called Mundari tribesmen or simply Mundari (or Mandari/Mondari). The Mundari are Muslim cattle herders and traditional enemies of the Dinka people. The arming of the Mundari led to an escalation of violence, with traditional cattle raids escalating into cattle wars. The Mundari Commandos are headquartered in Juba/Terakeka. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The main purpose of the Mundari Commandos was to fight the SPLM/A insurgents in southern Sudan. They reinforced the demoralized government troops. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | faster mobilization |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | Mundari killed unarmed Dinka in 1986; the army did not prevent them from doing so. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | killing |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | no information |
| Reasons for Membership: | Mundari are traditional enemies to the Dinka tribe, which is the main tribe the SPLM/A recruits from. Dinka drove Mundari off their cattle-ranges, and they fled to Juba where they lived in camps suffering hunger. For being a PGM, Mundari members receive food and aid allocations. |
| PGM Members Killed? | sometimes |
PGM Size
| Size: | One news source form 1986 says the Mundari tribe’s militia had 1,000 members. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | According to a news source from 1985, the government supplied the Mundari with weapons. Another news source from 1986 says that the Mundari buy their own weapons but receive army ammunition. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The government is the main force that organized the Mundari tribe into an armed militia. It supplies the Mundari with weapons and food from aid agencies and give the militias free rein to pursue their traditional wars against other tribes, such as the Dinka, Nuer and the Shilluk. The Mundari Comando’s leader is the Mundari tribesman Colonel Clement Wani. According to one news source he was killed in 1993, but news sources in the 2000s still mention him as leader of the group. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.