Fangak is a community in South Sudan

South Sudan

South Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...

. It lies in Fangak County in Jonglei

Jonglei

Jonglei is one of the 10 states of South Sudan. Jonglei is the largest state in the Republic of South Sudan, with approximately 122,479 km2, as well as the most populous according to the controversial 2008 census conducted during present-day South Sudan's second period of autonomy. Bor is the...

 state.

During the Second Sudanese Civil War

Second Sudanese Civil War

The Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. Although it originated in southern Sudan, the civil war spread to the Nuba mountains and Blue Nile by the end of the 1980s....

, Gabriel Tanginya, commander of a pro-government Nuer militia had his base in Fangak. Tanginya was at first associated with Commander Paulino Matiep in Anyanya II

Anyanya II

Anyanya II is the name taken in 1978 by a group of Nuer dissidents who took up arms in eastern Upper Nile.The name implies continuity with the Anyanya, or Anya-Nya, movement of the First Sudanese Civil War ....

, then with Paulino joined Riek Machar

Riek Machar

Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon , is the first vice-president of the independent Republic of South Sudan.Riek Machar obtained a PhD in mechanical engineering in 1984 and then joined the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War...

's SPLA-Nasir

SPLA-Nasir

The SPLA-Nasir was a splinter faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army , a rebel group that fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War. Originally created as an attempt by Nuer Tribe to replace SPLA leader John Garang in August 1991, it gradually became coopted by the government...

 force in 1991.
In the 1990s the SPLA-Nasir

SPLA-Nasir

The SPLA-Nasir was a splinter faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army , a rebel group that fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War. Originally created as an attempt by Nuer Tribe to replace SPLA leader John Garang in August 1991, it gradually became coopted by the government...

 militia was said to have had its only prison at Fangak, which lies in the center of a malarial swamp.

In February 2011, forces loyal to the rebel General George Athor

George Athor

George Athor Deng, who holds the Sudan People's Liberation Army rank of Lieutenant General, is a SPLA dissident and also a former unsuccessful 'independent' candidate for the leadership of Jonglei State, Sudan. Jonglei State is one of the more influential states in South Sudan...

 attacked three operational outposts of the Sudan People's Liberation Army

Sudan People's Liberation Army

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement is a political party in South Sudan. It was initially founded as a rebel political movement with a military wing known as the Sudan People's Liberation Army estimated at 180,000 soldiers. The SPLM fought in the Second Sudanese Civil War against the Sudanese...

 (SPLA). They briefly occupied the town of Fangak before withdrawing when SPLA troops arrived. Several people died in the conflict.
Later the SPLA reported that at least 105 people had been killed, mostly women and children.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...

, called for immediate implementation of the January ceasefire agreement.