South Sudan’s army fought yesterday with the “White Army” ethnic militia, accusing rebels of mobilising the force despite its offer of a truce to end the conflict in the new country.
Two weeks of fighting have left at least 1,000 dead and split the oil-producing country barely two years after it won independence from Sudan. It has also raised fears of an all-out civil war between the main Dinka and Nuer ethnic groups which could destabilise fragile East Africa.
The feared White Army – made up largely of Nuer youths who dust their bodies with ash – clashed with government troops near the town of Bor five days after rebels were driven out, army spokesman Philip Aguer said.
A rebel spokesman denied the White Army was controlled by Riek Machar, a Nuer, the former vice-president whose followers oppose President Salva Kiir, a Dinka.
The army used helicopter gunships against the White Army advance near Bor, Mr Aguer said.
"They then dispersed and returned back," the Sudan People's Liberation Army spokesman said by phone from South Sudan's capital, Juba, 190km (120 miles) south of Bor.
Independent force
The White Army are recognised by the ash, prepared from burnt cow dung, with which they cover themselves to ward off insects. They are armed with machetes, sticks and guns. The army estimated their number at 25,000. Rebel spokesman Moses Ruai Lat said that rather than being under Mr Machar's control, the armed Nuer youth were an "independently organised force".
The United Nations said the involvement of the White Army brought another volatile ingredient. "South Sudan does not need another escalation of the crisis involving armed youth, pitching communities against communities. This can end in a vicious cycle of violence," UN special representative of the secretary general Hilde Johnson, said in a statement. – (Reuters)