Nhialdiu (or ''Nhial Diu'') is a large village in the

Rubkona County Rubkona County is an administrative division of Unity State, South Sudan. The administrative center is the town of Rubkona, across the Bahr el Ghazal River from the state capital Bentiu and the town of Yoynyang, which are also in Rubkona County. ...

Unity State Unity State, also known as Western Upper Nile, is a state in South Sudan. Unity state is in the Greater Upper Nile region. Unity is inhabited predominantly by two ethnic groups: the Nuer majority, and the Dinka minority. In 2015, a presidentia ...

, in the

Greater Upper Nile The Greater Upper Nile is a region of northeastern South Sudan. It is named for the White Nile, a tributary of the Nile River in North and East Africa. History The Greater Upper Nile region seceded from the Republic of Sudan on 9 July 2011 al ...

region 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 the C ...

. It is located about southwest 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 ...

. Nhialdiu is in Leek Nuer country.

Civil war

The village is at a strategic junction of dirt roads. Between June 1997 and November 1998 fighting between factions in the Nhialdiu area caused about 70% of the population to flee to

and

Mankien Mankien (or Mankin) is a community in Unity state in South Sudan. With a key location near the oil fields, the town changed hands more than once during the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005). In April 2011 the town was once again the scene of c ...

. In early 1998 villages around Nhialdiu were looted and destroyed. The health center in Nhialdiu was destroyed. Between July and August 2000 during fighting between militias a large band of country between Nimne and Nhialdiu was depopulated and burned to the ground. Many attacks were reported on villages around Nhialdiu in January–April 2002. A study of

Landsat The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to Lan ...

data between 1999 and 2004 showed major shifts in land use that closely corresponded to reports of fighting in

Block 5A Block 5A is an oil concession in South Sudan. After oil field development began during the Second Sudanese Civil War, Block 5A was the scene of extensive fighting as rival militias struggled for control. Out of an original population of 240,000, a ...

. Between 1999 and 2002 most farming activity stopped in the bands that extended on each side of the newly built oil roads. Traditional farming areas were abandoned and there was a gradual drift of farming activity towards the south and west. By 2002 there was no sign of any farming activity around Nhialdiu, where a series of village attacks were reported for the last three years.

Post war

Sporadic security problems continued after the end of the civil war in January 2005. On 23 March 2005 Leek Nuer raiders attacked cattle camps around Nhialdiu killing twenty people and taking 24,000 head of cattle. 6,000-10,000 civilians took refuge in Nhialdiu. The Bul launched a counterattack on the Leek, causing more civilians to flee to Nhialdiu,

and

Rubkona Rubkona (or ''Rub Kona'', ''Rub-Koni'') is a town in Unity (state), Unity State, South Sudan. It lies on the northern bank of the Bahr el Ghazal River, connected via the ''El Salaam Bridge'' (The Peace Bridge) to the state capital, Bentiu. This b ...

. In January 2007 the vice-president of the Government of South Sudan visited the village. That week there was small-scale spear fighting in Pakcur and Nhialdiu in which five people were wounded in revenge for a killing that had taken place three months before. In August 2011 a public bus with 12 passengers hit landmines when travelling from Bentiu to Nhialdiu. Two people died and six were injured. The government suspected that a militia linked to Gai Yoach had planted the mines. As of January 2010 the Primary Health Care Center at Nhialdiu was partially equipped, and was being staffed by qualified nurses. The center was short of supplies of vaccines and medicines.

References

Sources

* * ** * * * * {{refend Populated places in Unity (state) Rubkona County