The 2014 Bentiu massacre occurred on 15 April 2014 in the town of
Bentiu
Bentiu, also spelled Bantiu, is a city in South Sudan and capital of the state of Unity State.
Location
Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, near the international border with the Republic of the Sudan. It li ...
, in the north of
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of th ...
, during the
South Sudanese Civil War
The South Sudanese Civil War was a multi-sided civil war in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar and ten others of attempting a coup d'éta ...
. The attack has been described by ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' as the "worst massacre" of the civil war.
Prelude
Prior to the attack, people had sought refuge in places of worship and healing,
[An ‘abomination’: Slaughter in the mosques and churches of Bentiu, South Sudan](_blank)
washingtonpost.com. while a local radio station featured rebel commanders warning certain ethnic groups, except the
Nuers, that they were coming for them, calling on the other groups to rape the non-Nuer women.
Attack
UN human rights investigators said that after rebels wrested Bentiu from government forces in heavy battles, the gunmen spent two days hunting down those who they believed opposed them.
[S.Sudan rebels slaughter 'hundreds' in ethnic massacres: UN](_blank)
, news.yahoo.com. The killers, identified by the United Nations as forces of the Nuer-led
SPLM/A-IO, went from place to place, from mosque to church to hospital, separating people by ethnicity and religion and shooting the ones left behind.
Civilians were killed in the town's main hospital, in a Catholic church and especially in the
Kali-Ballee mosque,
[South Sudan: Bentiu atrocity will not be the last unless pleas for help are heard](_blank)
theguardian.com. where hundreds had taken shelter and where the rebels "separated individuals of certain nationalities and ethnic groups and escorted them to safety, while the others were killed," according to a UN report.
One of those who only barely escaped death during the massacre was the prominent former
warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
and pro-government commander
Peter Par Jiek
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 the course of that conflict, Par fought under Riek Machar with several rebel and pro-go ...
.
A week after the attack, bodies still littered the streets.
Casualties
South Sudan's government said the death toll from the massacre exceeded 400.
In the main mosque alone, "more than 200 civilians were reportedly killed and over 400 wounded," the UN mission in the country said.
According to a source, many of the victims were
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
ese, in particular traders from
Darfur
Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju ...
as well as soldiers from the
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a Sudanese rebel group from Darfur accused of supporting the South Sudanese government. According to the source, JEM fighters removed their uniforms and hid in the mosque, before being shot. However, a Sudanese human rights group rejected this claim, saying those killed were unarmed civilians.
Many other victims were civilians as well as
SPLA soldiers belonging to the
Dinka people
The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotes, Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, South Sudan, Renk, in the region of Bahr el Gh ...
, an ethnic group which had traditionally supported Kiir's government.
Aftermath
Rebel leader
Riek Machar
Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon (born 26 November 1952) is a South Sudanese politician who serves as the First Vice President of South Sudan.
Political life
In February 2020, Machar was re-sworn in as first vice president following a revitalised ...
said his forces were not behind the killings
and rebel spokesman
Lul Ruai Koang said, "the government forces and their allies committed these heinous crimes while retreating."
South Sudan sacks army chief over Bentiu
sbs.com.au.
The massacre at Bentiu greatly increased the animosity of Dinkas against ethnic Nuer in Bahr el Ghazal which had previously been largely peaceful and unaffected by the civil war. Families of Dinka soldiers killed at Bentiu attacked a Nuer SPLA soldier at Mapel, Western Bahr el Ghazal, in April 2014, resulting in inter-tribal clashes and the massacre of up to 200 Nuer soldiers by Dinka soldiers. This violence led to the mass desertion of Nuer SPLA members in Bahr el Ghazal who then fled north into Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
in course of a long march
The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Army of the Chinese ...
.
See also
* Ethnic violence in South Sudan (2011–present)
*Bor massacre
The Bor massacre was a massacre of an estimated 2,000 civilians in Bor on November 15, 1991 during the Second Sudanese Civil War. The massacre was carried out mostly by Nuer fighters from SPLA-Nasir, led by Riek Machar, and the militant group know ...
*Pibor massacre
The Pibor massacre occurred in Pibor County, South Sudan from 23 December 2011 to 4 January 2012. The fighting was between the Murle and the Lou Nuer, mostly over raiding cattle and abducting children to raise as their own. The Nuer White Army rel ...
References
Bibliography
* {{cite book
, last=
, first=
, title=The Conflict in Northern and Western Bahrel Ghazal States
, publisher=Small Arms Survey
The Small Arms Survey (SAS) is an independent research project located at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. It provides information on all aspects of small arms and armed violence, as a res ...
, location=Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
, date=16 October 2014
, url=http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/archive/south-sudan/conflict-crisis-2013-15/bahr-el-ghazal/The-Conflict-in-Northern-and-Western-Bahr-el-Ghazal-States-Oct-2014.pdf
, ref = {{harvid, Small Arms Survey, 2014
Massacres in 2014
Bentiu
Bentiu, also spelled Bantiu, is a city in South Sudan and capital of the state of Unity State.
Location
Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, near the international border with the Republic of the Sudan. It li ...
Bentiu massacre
Bentiu massacre
History of South Sudan
Greater Upper Nile
Attacks in Africa in 2014
April 2014 events in Africa
South Sudanese Civil War