Arok Thon Arok (died 12 February 1998) was a politician from Southern Sudan. He was one of five senior commanders of the

Sudan People's Liberation Army The South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), formerly the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), is the army of the South Sudan, Republic of South Sudan. The SPLA was founded as a guerrilla movement against the government of Sudan in 198 ...

(SPLA), before defecting.

Early life

Arok was a Dinka Bor from the Twic community of Kongor. He was said to be related to John Garang. (reliability unknown)

Career

Arok attended military school in Khartoum. He was a major in the SPAF, working as an intelligence officer in the 13th Brigade in Upper Nile. He and others founded

(SPLA) in 1983. He was one of five senior commanders on the Permanent Political Military Office of the SPLA: John Garang, Kerubino Kuanyin Bol,

William Nyuon Bany William Nyuon Bany (died 13 January 1996) was a Southern Sudanese politician who was also one of the founders of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). He was appointed third in command after John Garang and Kerubino Kuanyin Bol. While he wor ...

, and

Salva Kiir Salva (Latin for "Save") may refer to: People *Francisco Salva Campillo (1751-1828), Spanish scientist * Ramon d'Salva (born 1921), Filipino actor * Héctor Salva (1939-2015), Uruguayan football midfielder *Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 1951), South ...

being the others. He was senior in rank to all of the others apart from Garang, and served for four years as a member of the Political-Military High Command and as Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration and Logistics. In 1984 he was part of a delegation visiting Libya to buy arms. He was in Kongor in 1984 to 1985 as the regional commander for Mading Bor. He almost died of thirst between Juba and Mading Bor when he and his troops travelled in an area where there was no water. He was succeeded by Commander

Kuol Manyang Juuk Kuol Manyang is a South Sudanese politician. He is a member of the SPLM. He became governor of Jonglei state on 15 December 2007, following the first former governor, Philip Thon Leek from Dinka Bor, to curb cattle raiding and abduction of child ...

as the leader in Mading Bor. Arok's wife died in 1987, and in 1988 he visited England to place his children in school there, where it was reported that he undertook secret negotiations with SPAF General Burma Nasir. When word got back to Garang, he expelled Arok from the SPLA and briefly imprisoned, along with Kerubino. Arok went to Uganda, where he was placed under house arrest by Museveni before being released in February 1993. They were eventually given status as refugees, and went to Kenya, where they joined an SPLA breakaway faction formed in 1991 headed by former SPLA Commander

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 ...

, a movement later called the

South Sudan Independence Movement The SPLA-Nasir was a splinter faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), a rebel group that fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War. Originally created as an attempt by the Nuer tribe to replace SPLA leader John Garang in August 1991, ...

/Army. By March 1993 there were four factions opposing Garang. Initially they comprised a "Unity" group, but this fell apart. The factions were led by the following men: # Bany and Joseph Oduhu #

and

Lam Akol Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin, is a South Sudanese politician of Shilluk descent. He is the current leader of National Democratic Movement (NDM) party. He is a former high-ranking official in the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and subsequently bec ...

(Nasir Group) # Kerubino and others (Bahr el-Ghazal Group) # Arok (Bor Citizens Group) In the 1990s Arok returned to Khartoum, and in April 1996, Machar, Kerubino and Arok signed a "Political Charter" with the Sudanese Government in Khartoum.

Death

Arok died in the

1998 Sudan Air Force crash The 1998 Sudan Air Force crash was the crash of a Sudanese Air Force transport plane at Nasir that killed several of the country's most senior government leaders, including the Vice-President Zubair Mohamed Salih. On the morning of 12 February ...

at Nasir. Others killed included the Vice-President of Sudan, Major General Zubair Mohamed Salih, and several other political and military leaders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arok, Arok Thon Sudan People's Liberation Movement politicians 1998 deaths Year of birth missing SPLM/SPLA Political-Military High Command Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Sudan