Peter Par Jiek

Peter Par Jiek
Born 1950s[1]
Died 9 April 2017[2]
Near Wau, South Sudan
Allegiance SPLA (c. 1985–1991)
SPLA-Nasir (1991–1993)
SPLA-United (1993–1994)
SSIM/A (1994–1997)
SSDF (1997–2000)
SPDF (2000–2002)[3]
SPLA (2002–2017)
 South Sudan (2011–2017)
Service/branch Sudan People's Liberation Army
Years of service c. 1985–2017
Rank Brigadier general
Commands held Wau State counter-insurgency forces (2014–2017)
Battles/wars

Second Sudanese Civil War

Lord's Resistance Army insurgency
South Sudanese Civil War

Peter Par Jiek (1950s – 9 April 2017) was a brigadier general of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and veteran of the Second Sudanese Civil War. In course of that conflict, Par fought under Riek Machar with several rebel and pro-government groups, and eventually became a powerful militia commander in Western Upper Nile. In that region, he established his own fiefdom and gained some notoriety for his rivalry with another rebel leader, Peter Gadet. Even though he had followed Machar during the whole Second Sudanese Civil War until 2005, Par sided with President Salva Kiir Mayardit upon the outbreak of the South Sudanese Civil War in 2013. Leading pro-government counter-insurgency forces in Wau State since 2014, Par was eventually ambushed and killed by SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Machar in 2017.[4]

Biography

Second Sudanese Civil War

Initial rebellion and rise in ranks

Peter Par Jiek was born in the 1950s as a member of the Dok subgroup of the Nuer people. He attended the Malakal secondary school where he received his high school education. After the outbreak of the Second Sudanese Civil War, he joined the SPLA.[1] In 1991, however, Par followed Riek Machar as he broke away from the SPLA,[3][5] and afterwards served in Machar's various rebel groups, such as the SPLA-Nasir, SPLA-United, and SSIM/A. Eventually, Machar and Par joined the SSDF in 1997,[1][3] an alliance of militias that had decided to side (for the time being) with the Sudanese government against other rebel factions.[6] This alliance soon broke down, however, and Par fought under Tito Biel against the Sudanese Armed Forces in 1998–99 in Western Upper Nile, most notably at Leer.[5][7] In May 1999, a major government offensive defeated the rebellious SSDF forces, recapturing Leer and driving the SSDF mostly from Western Upper Nile. While most of the SSDF retreated to Nyal, Par and some of his men instead moved to Tonj in Bahr el Ghazal.[8] Machar then ordered Par to participate in the Wunlit talks with the SPLA, where he was supposed to ask the SPLA for assistance against the government; the SPLA did sent limited aid, and the SSDF consequently was able to regain some ground.[9]

In early 2000, Machar left the SSDF, forming the SPDF, and Par yet again followed him.[3][10] In March of that year, he was appointed the SPDF's overall commander for Western Upper Nile by Machar.[11] In this position, he expanded his forces by recruiting Dok Nuer, who generally supported him.[12] From March 2016 onwards, the allied forces of Par and the SPLA, under Peter Gadet's command, gained some ground against the Sudanese army and Paulino Matip Nhial's pro-government militia, while continuing to weaken the government's grip on the area by ambushing military convoies and destroying oil pipelines.[13]

War of the Peters

Frontlines in June 2001; SPDF territory (including Par's) in green.

The cooperation between Peter Par and Peter Gadet broke down in June–July 2000, as their militias began to fight each other. Who was responsible for the outbreak of hostilities is unknown, as both sides blamed each other. The resulting conflict became known as "War of the Peters".[14] As Par and Gadet battled for control over Western Upper Nile, the former was reportedly backed by the government, receiving ammunition from Matip's men.[15] In return, Par's men guarded government installations, especially Block 5A.[16] Between July and August 2000, Par joined forces with Matip's pro-government militia and drove Gadet's men to the west of the Jur River, though Gadet was able to retake all lost territory in August and September 2000. This fighting was brutal and led to enormous destruction and the displacement of up to 60,000 people.[10][17]

The War of the Peters continued until August 2001,[18] when Par and Gadet agreed to a ceasefire. A few months later, Machar also came to an understanding with the SPLA leadership and agreed to merge the SPDF with the SPLA, whereupon Par and Gadet signed a final peace agreement in Koch in February 2002. As result, Par rejoined the SPLA.[19][20] Gadet and Par then split Western Upper Nile between them, with the latter receiving Bentiu, Thar Jath, Leer, and Adok.[21]

Later civil war and LRA insurgency

As their dispute was now settled, Par and Gadet concentrated on evicting the government from Upper Nile,[22] though the government soon launched a counter-offensive in the area. While Par managed to repulse an attempt of pro-government forces to capture Leer in September 2002,[23] the Sudanese army eventually retook the town in January 2003 in an fresh drive to clear the area for oil exploitation.[24] The civil war eventually ended with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. Thereafter, Par was appointed lieutenant colonel of the SPLA, and took part in the campaign against the Lord's Resistance Army. By 2006, he and his men were stationed in Owiny Ki-Bul in Eastern Equatoria.[25]

South Sudanese Civil War

After South Sudan's independence in 2011, Par was appointed brigadier general.[2] When the civil war between Kiir and Machar broke out in 2013, Par decided to side with Kiir, and quickly became one of the government's leading counter-insurgency commanders. He narrowly escaped death in 2014, when rebels captured Bentiu and massacred all local government supporters. Afterwards, Par joined the SPLA's 5th Division in Wau State, where he was accused of ordering the killings of Nuer SPLA soldiers in Wau town and Mapel who were suspected of sympathizing with Machar. Since the outbreak of a widespread rebellion in Wau State in 2016, Par was heavily involved in fighting the local insurgents[1] and became the leading commander for all SPLA operations in Wau State.[2]

In April 2017, Par led a major government offensive aimed at retaking Baggari, an important town in Wau State held by SPLM-IO forces. Though his men defeated the rebels and captured Baggari, his convoy was ambushed as it returned to Wau town on 9 April 2017. Par, along with Colonel Abraham Bol Chut Dhuol and twelve of their bodyguards, were killed in the following shootout.[2][26] In revenge for their deaths, SPLA soldiers and pro-government Dinka militiamen belonging to Mathiang Anyoor murdered and robbed non-Dinkas in Wau town and surrounding villages.[27]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "BREAKING NEWS: Another Senior Government General Feared Dead in an Ambush near Wau, Western Bhar el Ghazal". Nyamile. 9 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Two South Sudan army generals killed in clashes with rebels". gurtong. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Special Report IV: Who is who". IRIN. 11 March 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  4. ↑ "Machar rebels kill two SPLA Generals". The Insider. 11 April 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 Rone 2003, pp. 17, 18.
  6. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 12.
  7. ↑ Harker (2000), p. 13.
  8. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 273.
  9. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 306.
  10. 1 2 Rone 2003, pp. 358–360.
  11. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 338.
  12. ↑ Rone 2003, pp. 77, 346.
  13. ↑ Rone 2003, pp. 342, 343.
  14. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 351.
  15. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 352.
  16. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 386.
  17. ↑ Nyaba (2002), p. 116.
  18. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 77.
  19. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 364, 372, 373.
  20. ↑ "Focus on oil-related clashes in western Upper Nile". IRIN. 28 February 2002. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  21. ↑ Rone 2003, p. 346.
  22. ↑ Rone 2003, pp. 77, 78, 413.
  23. ↑ Samson L. Kwaje (26 September 2002). "SPLM Downs Helicopter Gunship As NIF Escalates Fighting". gurtong. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
  24. ↑ Eric Reeves (27 January 2003). "Khartoum captures Leer in an accelerating offensive in Sudan's oil regions". Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  25. ↑ "Waiting in vain for rebels". IRIN. 5 October 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  26. ↑ "Western Lake Governor Matur Chut Collapses, Surviving Death of his Brothers". Nyamilepedia. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  27. ↑ "South Sudan: Civilians killed in Wau fighting". Al Jazeera. 10 April 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2017.

Bibliography

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