‘White Army’ moves on South Sudan state capital

JUBA, South Sudan – Twenty-five-thousand young men who make up a tribal militia known as the “White Army” are marching toward a contested state capital in South Sudan, an official said Saturday, dimming hopes for a cease-fire.

Seeking an end to the nearly two-week crisis in which an estimated 1,000 people have been killed, leaders from across East Africa announced on Friday that South Sudan had agreed to a “cessation of hostilities” against forces loyal to former Vice President Riek Machar, accused by the government of leading a Dec. 15 coup attempt that erupted into spiraling violence.

But Machar rejected that, saying in an interview with the BBC that any cease-fire had to be negotiated by delegations from both sides. The government in the capital, Juba, seized on that statement to further condemn Machar.

“Dr. Riek Machar has put obstacles to this genuine call by issuing preconditions that a cease-fire cannot be reached unless a negotiation is conducted,” Vice President James Wani Igga said. “This is complete intransigence and obstinacy because the main issue now is to stop violence.”

In addition to those killed, tens of thousands are seeking shelters at United Nations camps.

More fighting is expected. Most serious is the looming battle for Bor, the provincial capital of Jonglei state that briefly fell to rebels before government forces took it back last week, military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said. Pro-Machar forces are believed to be preparing a fresh offensive to retake Bor, where three United States military aircraft were hit by gunfire while trying to evacuate American citizens Dec. 21, wounding four U.S. service members.

The estimated 25,000 youths from the Lou Nuer subclan – the same tribe Machar is from – are marching on Bor, Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth said. The “White Army” gets its name from the white ash fighters put on their skin as protection from insects.

As of Saturday evening, the youths, who are armed with light weapons and heavy machine guns, were about 30 miles outside Bor, he said, meaning they could reach the state capital imminently.

Earlier in the crisis, some 2,000 Lou Nuer armed fighters attacked a U.N. base in Akobo, also in Jonglei state, killing three U.N. troops and a reported two dozen or so ethnic Dinka inside the base.

Akshaya Kumar, a South Sudan analyst for the U.S.-based Enough Project, said it was important to remember that civilian lives hang in the balance in Bor.

“Bor has already been the site of two violent clashes in less than two weeks,” Kumar said. “Its people, many of whom are sheltering in the U.N. compound, cannot withstand another battle.” South Sudan military forces are in Bor and will protect the civilian population against attacks, Lueth said. Most of the residents of Bor are Dinka.

“It’s hard to predict what will happen,” Lueth said. “This is war.”

The government blames Machar for plotting a Dec. 15 coup attempt. Machar denies that charge and his backers insist violence began when presidential guards from President Salva Kiir’s majority Dinka tribe tried to disarm guards from Machar’s Nuer ethnic group. From Juba the military clashes then spiraled across the country.

The United Nations, South Sudan’s government and other analysts say the dispute is political at its heart, but has since taken on ethnic overtones. The fighting has displaced more than 120,000 people.