Pro-Government Militias
South Sudan Defence Forces - Tanginya Faction (SSDF Tanginya) (Sudan)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | yes |
| PGM ID Number: | 286 |
| Country: | Sudan |
| Date formed: | Jan. 1, 1999 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | Commander Gabriel Tanginya has been fighting for the government as early as 1998. However, it is not clear whether his forces were part of the SSDF then, because they were rather known as pro-government Nuer militias. In an interview in 1999, Tanginya’s militia was mentioned to be part of the SSDF (Human Rights Watch 2003). |
| Date dissolved: | Sept. 1, 2007 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | month |
| Details of Termination: | In September 2007, a news source reports that a Major-General Gabriel Tange of the Southern Sudan Defence Forces, probably referring to Gabriel Tanginya from the South Sudan Defence Forces, laid down the arms of the militia in order to form a new party, called Southern Sudan Defence Party. As the SSDF Tanginya faction is not mentioned by news or meta sources after that date, it can be assumed that it became terminated that month. In 2011, a news source mentions a fight between the SPLA and “Tanginya’s forces”. There is neiterh evidence that these forces were part of the SSDF instead of a new militia loyal to Tanginya; nor is there evidence that these Tanginya’s forces were pro-government. Tanginya continued to operate forces in South Sudan and he was killed in 2017 (Human Rights Watch 2018). |
| Termination Type(s): | disarmed |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | yes |
| Former Armed Group? | yes |
| 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?: | no | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | state (institution) |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | no |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | yes |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | plunder and loot; military |
| 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: | [2000, 3000] |
| Target(s): | civilians; rebels, insurgents, or other armed group; ethnic group; aid workers |
| Purpose(s): | protect property and investment; intimidation of civilians; fight insurgents |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | Shilluk (Sudan) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | given |
| Ethnic Membership: | Nuer (Sudan) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | given |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | Press reports refer to this group as South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF) loyal to Gabriel Tanginya, militias loyal to Tanginya, Nuer militias under the command of Tanguinya, etc. In this database, the group is called South Sudan Defence Forces - Tanginya Faction (SSDF Tanginya). Tanginya is sometimes also called Gabriel Tanginya, Gabriel Tanguinya, Gabriel Tang Ginye. |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The Sudanese government used the PGM to conduct scorched earth campaigns. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | Tanginya’s forces conducted a scorched earth campaign against Shilluk civilians. As a consequence, 100,000 Shilluk were forcibly displaced and their homed burned. The PGM enjoyed impunity for their crimes. In 2006, Tanginya’s militia wounded civilians, looted a compound belonging to an NGO and abducted 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? | rarely |
PGM Size
| Size: | In 1999, the SSDF claimed that its Tanginya faction had between 2,000 to 3,000 forces (Human Rights Watch 2003). |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: |
Organisation
| Organisation: | This PGM’s leader was Maj-Gen Gabriel Gatwech Chan, commonly known as Tanginya. He was an officer in the Sudanese army. After SSDF’s leader Paulino Matiep defected to the SPLA in 2006, Tanginya became the leader of the remaining pro-government SSDF forces. He was supported by the Sudanese Armed Forces and was funded by the government. Tanginya had been a commander in the formal SSDF, but also had direct contact to the government (Human Rights Watch 2003). |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.