The grassroots nature of counterinsurgent tribal militia formation: the case of the Fertit in Southern Sudan, 1985–1989: Daniel S. Blocq

During the second civil war in Southern Sudan, the Khartoum Government used various proxies, including counterinsurgent tribal militias, to suppress the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).1 Counterinsurgent tribal militias are composed of members of one or more tribes, operating from within tribal area(s).2 Scholars write that the government “encouraged, organized or indirectly supported,”3 “armed,”4 “sponsored,”5 “employed,”6 and otherwise used these militias in its campaign against the SPLA.7 The militias helped the army defend its bases, escort convoys, track down SPLA units, fight the SPLA, and target members of clans and tribes deemed sympathetic to the SPLA.8 By doing so, counterinsurgent tribal militias had an important impact on the evolution of the civil war.