John Uliny, also known as Johnson Olony, Johnson Olonyi, and John Olony, is a

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 the C ...

ese militia leader. He is a member of the Shilluk ethnic group.

Biography

Uliny is from Upper Nile. He was the leader of a group of forces waiting for integration into 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). After a conflict emerged between his forces and the SPLA, he fled to

South Kordofan South Kordofan ( ar, جنوب كردفان ') is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 158,355 km² and an estimated population of approximately 1,100,000 people (2000).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 ...

. He there aligned himself with the

South Sudan Democratic Movement The South Sudan Democratic Movement (SSDM), sometimes called the South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army (SSDM/A), was a South Sudanese militant group. Along with its armed wing, the South Sudan Defence Army (SSDA), rebelled against the government o ...

(SSDM or SSDM/A) of

George Athor George Athor Deng (1962 – 19 December 2011) was the Sudan People's Liberation Army lieutenant general and a SPLA dissident who led the South Sudan Democratic Movement and its military wing, the South Sudan Defence Army. He was also an independ ...

. In February 2012, he claimed the leadership of the South Sudan Democratic Movement, shortly after the death of leader George Athor. He subsequently entered into peace talks with the South Sudanese government. On 13 June 2013, he accepted the amnesty offered by the government of President

Salva Kiir Mayardit Salva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951), also known as Salva Kiir, is a South Sudanese politician who has been the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Governmen ...

. He was formally inducted into the military and given the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

. His forces, however, were not integrated in the army structure. In February 2014, he was wounded by a shot to the neck after opposing forces aligned with

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 ...

entered the city of

Malakal Malakal is a city in South Sudan. It is the capital of Upper Nile State, South Sudan, along the White Nile River. It also serves as the headquarter of Malakal county and it used to be the headquarter of Upper Nile Region from 1970s to late 1990s. ...

. In February 2015, his forces were reported by

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

to be forcibly enlisting

child soldiers Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...

. In April 2015, his deputy was shot and tensions between the forces of Uliny and government forces rose. The state government and governor left the city of Malakal which the forces of Uliny controlled. Uliny did not report to government forces for weeks and did not attend meetings in

Juba Juba () is the capital and largest city of South Sudan. The city is situated on the White Nile and also serves as the capital of the Central Equatoria State. It is the world's newest capital city to be elevated as such, and had a populatio ...

. On 15 May, the forces of Uliny declared they wished to run the affairs of Malakal independently, and announced the name of their group as Agwelek Forces. They stated they were willing to work together with other opposition forces such as the

Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (abbreviated SPLM-IO), also known as the anti-governmental forces (AGF), is a mainly South Sudanese political party and rebel group that split from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement in 20 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uliny, John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Upper Nile (state) People of the South Sudanese Civil War South Sudanese military personnel