George Athor's rebellion

When Athor's defeat in the election was announced, his forces attacked a SPLA base at Doleib Hill, southwest of the Upper Nile state capital Malakal, on 30 April 2010.[4] This assault resulted in eight deaths.[10] At first, Athor denied that he or his followers were responsible for the Doleib Hill attack, while also claimining that the SPLM had rigged the Jonglei election and harassed his supporters, demanding that Kuol Manyang step down as governor. The South Sudanese government dismissed his accusations and demands.[12] Athor's followers subsequently began to repeatedly clash with government forces in Jonglei.[10] As a skilled commander, Athor quickly gained ground, capturing large parts of Jonglei.[7] He announced the formation of a rebel alliance, the "South Sudan Democratic Movement" (SSDM) with an armed wing called "South Sudan Army" (SSA),[4][11] and insisted that he was fighting for military and government reforms.[11]

Over time, Athor was able to attract other dissident commanders to his SSDM/A alliance, including Bapiny Monituel in Mayom County,[13] John Uliny and Alyuak Ogot in Upper Nile,[14] Gatluak Gai in Unity State,[14] David Yau Yau in Pibor County.[15][14] Despite these alignments, the different rebel leaders did little to unite or coordinate their uprisings; most were unwilling to accept anyone but themselves as chief commander.[16] As many of the other rebellions were at least partially driven by ethnic loyalties, Athor also struggled to gain support as he was a Dinka like many members of the government. In addition, his main area of operations was relatively isolated from other insurgent areas.[17] Athor's efforts to create a united rebel force thus failed, and he continued to wage a rebellion largely separate from other SSDM/A members.[16][17] He also enlargened his private army by arming supportive civilians.[11] By September, he was suspected of hiding near the Ethiopian border.[8] In the next month, Athor's rebels were accused by the SPLA of being responsible of an ambush in Unity State, killing 23 soldiers and policemen.[18]

In October 2010, the government and Athor's force began negotiations.[10] In the same month, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir Mayardit granted amnesties to several rebel leaders, including Athor, Gatluak Gai, and Gabriel Tanginye.[19] However, the talks soon stalled. In response, Kiir organized a direct meeting of government delegation and Athor at an undisclosed location in late December, but the rebel leader did not attend the meeting. Meanwhile, his followers clashed with the SPLA in Pigi County, with up to 20 soldiers killed according to SPLA sources.[10] Athor's refusal to accept a deal reportedly frustrated his allies in the SPLA.[10]

Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) fighters in 2009

Just before the South Sudanese independence referendum, however, the government was able to reach an agreement with Athor. On 5 January 2011, a ceasefire was signed by representatives of both sides in Juba, overseen by South Sudanese Vice-president Riek Machar. Even though the agreement included a timetable for the reintegration of Athor's force into the SPLA, it did not solve all issues. One key point of contention was the rank which would be granted to Athor upon his return to the SPLA. Members of the military were dissatisfied with the ceasefire's terms and blocked Athor when he attempted to travel to Juba, and though the ceasefire held during the independence referendum from 9 to 15 January, fighting resumed afterward.[10][20]

Heavy clashes between the SSDM/A and the SPLA took place in Fangak County on 9–10 February.[10] Both sides blamed each other for the clashes. Athor claimed that the government army had attacked his contingents at Dor, Koliet, and Kolnyang in Fangak, places where his rebels has assembled to wait for their integration into the military. According to Athor, his forces had "pursued" the SPLA attackers after repelling the initial attack, resulting in a battle at the county headquarters of New Fangak. In contrast, the SPLA claimed that the insurgents had struck first by assaulting Dor and Fangak, killing policemen, prison guards, wildlife wardens, and civilians as well as temporarily capturing New Fangak. According to this version of events, the SPLA had counter-attacked to retake the seized areas. Local officials reported that the fighting led to at least 200 deaths and 400 people being wounded.[8]

Later, clashes also took place at Diel (near Dor) and Atar (50 km southeast of Malakal).[8] Another regional dissident commander, Gabriel Tanginye, reportedly allied with Athor around this time; his forces subsequently began to clash with the SPLA in Fangak County.[21] On 27 February, heavy fighting erupted at three locations in Fangak; three weeks later, the SPLA overran Athor's hideout in Pigi County. The rebels subsequently retreated toward the Ethiopian border. On 7 March, another battle took place in Pigi County; the result of this clash was disputed: Athor claimed that the SSDM/A had captured several SPLA tanks, while the SPLA claimed that it had captured several rebel bases in the area.[20] In April 2011, Gabriel Tanginye and his militia surrendered to the SPLA; he was subsequently placed under house arrest in Juba.[22] In the next month, Athor armed 1,000 Gawaar Nuer and Padeng Dinka youths for their own conflict with the Murle; in return, the militants promised to aid his operations. Ultimately, the youths renegaded on the deal.[23] In June and July, SSDM/A commanders Gai and Yau Yau signed their own agreements with the government.[14]

In September and October, there were clashes between Athor's followers and the SPLA in Ayod County.[11] Athor's attempts to bolster his forces during this fighting by enlisting local youths again failed, as the new recruits instead retreated with their guns.[23] By November 2011, Athor's forces had been largely dislodged from northern Jonglei, though they still maintained some presence in the counties of Ayod, Fangak, Pigi and possibly Akobo.[21] His influence in Akobo had greatly declined, however, as many Luo Nuer militants had split from his forces in order to protect their homes from attacks by Murle militias.[11] Despite these setbacks, Athor remained adamant regarding his demands for any deal with the South Sudanese government, conditioning an end of the uprising on "new elections, the release of political detainees, and the selection of a third party to enforce any future peace agreement with the government". As these conditions were not met, negotiations between his forces and the government made no progress.[24]

On 19 December 2011, Athor was killed by the SPLA,[25] reportedly when he attempted to enter South Sudan's Central Equatoria from Uganda[14][26] or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2] According to Vice President Machar, Athor had attempted to recruit new members for the SSDM/A in the region, but SPLA border guards had encountered the rebel leader's group in Morobo County, opened fire, and killed him and one other insurgent. The South Sudanese government stated that it had not intended to kill Athor, whereas the SSDM/A accused Kiir's government of having previously attempted to assassinate the rebel leader.[26]