Nuer Genocide
We will never forget
On December 15, 2013, the genocide against the Nuer was carried out and executed by the Dinka militia group Mathiang Anyoor also known as ‘Dut-Ku-Beny,’ which translates to “protect the president”, orchestrated by the President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit and Jieng Council of Elders. These militia groups were secretly mobilized and trained in the Pantiit region of Northern Bahr El Ghazal State by Governor Gen. Paul Malong Awan. President Salva Kiir, along with the Jieng Council of Elders, assigned the following perpetrators to oversee the Dut-Ku-Beny militia in carrying out their slaughter mission in Juba: Generals Paul Malong Awan, Bol Akot, Garang Mabil, Salva Mathok, Justice Chan Reec, Bona Bhang Dhol, Justice Ambrose Riny Thiik, Telar Ring Deng, Malang Kerubino Kuanyin Bol, Lual Maroldit, Marial Chanoung, Akol Koor Kuc, Marial Noor, as well as trusted personnel from the President’s home state of Warrap, the Presidential Guard-Tiger Division, and Akol Koor’s Internal Security Bureau within the National Security Services.
On December 15, 2013, the Nuer genocide began. the mass killing went on until December 18, 2013. It was a well-organized, intentional mass killing perpetrated against thousands of innocent Nuer civilians in Juba. The exact number of innocent Nuer civilian massacred was unknown because the perpetrators denied UN access to the neighborhoods in Juba where the genocide was happening. Due to the fear of President Kiir and the rest of the perpetrators ending up in International Criminal Court for genocide and war crimes committed against humanity, the perpetrators burned hundreds of bodies, dumped thousands into the river and buried hundreds of thousands in unknown mass graves throughout the outskirt of Juba. The UN report estimated that more than 40,000 Nuer civilians were massacred in four days between December 15 and December 18, 2013.
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General Salva Kiir, the Jieng Council of Elders, and General Paul Malong, who served as the lead coordinators of the Nuer genocide operation, appointed General Marial Chanoung, to oversee the Southern part of Juba, secure the Giada Military Barracks, eliminates the Nuer component from the Presidential Guard, and clear the surrounding areas—primarily Khor William and Jebel neighborhoods—of Nuer residents.
General Salva Mathok was tasked with commanding the Dut ku Beny unit, which operated near the Presidency, the areas of Amarat, Thongping, and the Ministries complex. His mission was to massacre Nuer individuals who resisted, arrest them, and ultimately suppress all Nuer inhabitants in the area. General Bol Akot was assigned to oversee and massacre the Nuer residents who reside in Gudele and Mia Saba suburbs, located northwest of Juba. These areas were heavily populated by Nuer. General Garang Mabil was in charge of areas such as Mangaten and New Site residential neighborhoods, which were predominantly settled by Nuer.
December 16, 2013
“It was very dark,” one survivor said, “They stuffed and locked us, 400 Nuer men, inside Gudele police station and opened fire indiscriminately at us through the windows. I was shot in the inner thigh, I fell and then dead people fell on top of me.”
survivor
December 18, 2013
“I saw many of my Nuer people killed, including my brother. They called my brother to come out of the house and shot him in front of me.”
Nyachuol Ruot, survivor
December 17, 2013
“My brother was killed." I hid near the scene of the killings. For three days, I could hear screams and gunfire in my brain.....I feared I'd go crazy.”
survivor
Their operational plan was to set up roadblocks all over Juba City which they did and then send out the president’s private army (Dut ku Beny),
backed up by elements of the Presidential Guard and the National Security Services who would guide them, on house-to-house searches and targeted killings of Nuer people.
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On the morning of the 16th of December, the Dinka civilian youths in Juba were also provided with weapons to search and kill their Nuer neighbors. Prominent Dinka youth including Agel Machar, Deng Ayouk, and Thiik Giir, and many others who are natives of the President’s Warrap State and the
neighboring Northern Bahr el Ghazal State took part in the genocide, murdering hundreds of Nuer civilians. Major. Malang Karbino Kuanyin Bol, Garang Burjok, Kaka, Ajou Garang, Ajith Deng, and many other youthful officers from the Presidential Guard and National Security Service, from 15-19th December 2013, were allocated the operational area of Mia Saba (107) to Suk Libya, Mangaten, Gudele, and surrounding suburbs by Gen, Bol Akot, taking part in the senseless, meticulous slaughter of Nuer men, women, and children. Running them over with tanks and bulldozed many of them to death in their houses. Malang's victims include Lam Chuol Thichoung an ex-U.S Marine Corp and his brother.
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On the night of December 16, 2013, Dinka soldiers and police officers, who were patrolling the Gudele police station and the surrounding neighborhood, detained more than 400 Nuer men, women, and children. The detainees were forcibly confined in a small, overcrowded room within the Gudele police station. Throughout that night, the soldiers opened fire indiscriminately through two windows, killing all 400 individuals in the suffocating, cramped space. Many of the victims were apprehended during a house-to-house search in the Gudele neighborhood, while others were captured at checkpoints at the Gudele crossroad, with their arrest and killing based solely on their ethnicity.
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Hundreds of Nuer civilian were murdered in Juba Teaching Hospital in December 17. Thousands of Nuer civilian on their way to UN sites to seek refuge and protection were rounded up in various checkpoints throughout Juba and massacred. Only lucky few made it to UN sites. Yet Justice is not served for one of most unspeakable crime committed against humanity. The perpetrators have walked away free. In Africa, the Nuer genocide is second only to the Rwandan genocide.
Rol Naath
Government
