The Thuri, also known as Shatt, and

Luo people The Luo of Kenya and Tanzania are a Nilotic ethnic group native to western Kenya and the Mara Region of northern Tanzania in East Africa. The Luo are the fourth-largest ethnic group (10.65%) in Kenya, after the Kikuyu (17.13%), the Luhya ( ...

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 ...

. They speak DheThuri, a Luo language that is similar to the Jur and

Dinka language Dinka (natively , or simply ) is a Nilotic dialect cluster spoken by the Dinka people, the major ethnic group of South Sudan. There are several main varieties, Padang, Rek, Agaar, Bor, Hol, Twic East, Twic, which are distinct enough (though m ...

s. Having been perceived as close to the

Dinka people The Dinka people ( din, Jiɛ̈ɛ̈ŋ) are a Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan with a sizable diaspora population abroad. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Jonglei to Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nile (two out of ...

, the Thuri were targets of ethnic violence during the

Second Sudanese Civil War The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originate ...

, when the "

Army of Peace The Army of Peace ( ar, جيش السلام, Jaysh al-Salam) was a large alliance of Dār Fertit, Fertit tribal militias in Western Bahr el Ghazal during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Although initially armed by the Sudanese government in order t ...

", a mostly Fertit pro-government militia, attacked them as supporters of the mostly Dinka SPLA rebels. This caused many Thuri to take up arms and to join the SPLA in order to take revenge against other Fertit groups.

References

Bibliography

* Ethnic groups in South Sudan {{SouthSudan-ethno-group-stub