Paulino Matip Nhial
Encyclopedia
Paulino Matip Nhial is a military leader and politician in South Sudan
.
He joined the Anyanya
separatist force during the First Sudanese Civil War
(1955–1972), but after the peace agreement of 1972 he did not join the Sudanese army. In 1975 he again became a rebel in Bilpam and moved to Ethiopia
.
The Second Sudanese Civil War
started in 1983, and was to continue until 2005.
Paulino became a member of Anyanya II
, and in 1985 returned to Unity State (Western Upper Nile), armed and supported by the government. He was opposed to the Sudan People's Liberation Army
(SPLA) which had attacked Ananya II in 1983.
Fighting with Brigadier Omar al-Bashir
, then an army officer but soon to lead a coup and become president of Sudan, early in 1989 he recaptured Mayom
in Unity State from the SPLA.
In 1991, Paulino joined Riek Machar
’s faction.
Paulino's Bul Nuer territory around Mankien
and Mayom
in Unity state is close to both Kordofan and Bahr al-Ghazal and well situated for trade. He established an autonomous trading empire dealing in locally grown sorghum and in cattle looted from the Dinka people or purchased in the cattle market at Ler. After the Nasir faction led by Riek Machar
split from the SPLA mainstream, Paulino nominally joined this faction but in practice retained his independence of action. His headquarters grew in importance as a centre for trade between the Arabs and Western Nuer, exchanging manufactured goods for cattle.
, Paulino's forces were technically incorporated into the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF). In September 1997 he tried unsuccessfully to become governor of Unity State.
The government recognized his militia, the South Sudan Unity Movement/Army (SSUM/A), in March 1998. The government supplied arms and ammunition and named Paulino a Major General in the Sudan Armed Forces.
Riek's opposition to his governorship bid had caused a rupture between the two, and in July 1998 Paulino's troops took and sacked Ler, Riek's former base.
Although the SSUM became fragmented, with fighting between units led by rival commanders, it was the most powerful militia of people from the south that opposed the SPLA in the war.
Between 1998 and 2003 Paulino fought on the government side, forcibly removing civilians from the Block 5A
oil concession area, and assisting in clearances from other oil blocks.
In 1998-1999, Paulino's fighters and government troops clashed with Riek Machar's SSDF forces in a struggle for control of the Unity state oilfields.
Paulino's fighters forced Tito Biel
, a high-ranking SSDF commander, to evacuate Leer
early in 1999. Tito Biel later declared that he had gone over to the SPLA.
Riek himself resigned from the government and SSDF in 2000, forming a separate militia named the Sudan People's Democratic Forces, and in 2002 agree to merge this force with the SPLA.
As of April 2004 Paulino was chief of staff of the SSDF, and had wide-ranging power over the inhabitants of the Bentiu
, Mayoum and Mankin areas of Unity State. Despite his title, he had less control over Nuer outside the Bul Nuer area, and even in his home area did not have complete control.
Although opposed to the SPLA and receiving help from the government, the SSDF party as opposed to the militia was suspicious of the north and in favor of some measure of independence.
In the spring of 2004, SSDF militias in the Shilluk Kingdom burned villages and displaced thousands of people on government orders. The SSDF leaders including Paulino, Gordon Kuang, and Benson Kuany made their disgust with this action clear.
in Nairobi
to discuss the composition of the new army and the position of SSDF fighters in this army.
In 2006 Paulino signed the Juba Declaration of 8 January 2006
and integrated into the SPLA.
He was appointed deputy Commander in Chief of the SPLA.
More than 50,000 of Paulino's forces were integrated into the SPLA and other organized forces, but he retained some former SSDF soldiers as a personal bodyguard.
However, tension remained high. In October 2006 Paulino aired accusations that his troops were being sidelined in the appointments being made within the SPLA.
In May 2007 Paulino had to dispel rumors that he had died after seeking medical treatment in South Africa
.
In August 2008 he visited the United States
for medical treatment.
In May 2009 Paulino was promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant General while Major General James Hoth Mai was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed the SPLA’s Chief of Staff.
In October 2009 it was reported that around 300 of Matip's guards were being airlifted to Juba by the United Nations
.
A week before there had been a clash between soldiers guarding Matip's residence in Bentiu
and another SPLA unit in which one report said ten people died, mainly soldiers.
Another report gave the casualties as 15 soldiers and three civilians dead and 31 others injured.
According to Riek Machar, now Deputy President of South Sudan, Paulino Matip's house was attacked by heavily armed soldiers supported by tanks. In a public letter, Matip accused the SPLA, its Commander-in-Chief, Salva Kiir Mayardit
and the state governor Taban Deng Gai
of being involved in plotting the attack.
In March 2011 a presidential adviser said a plot had been discovered to assassinate Riek Machar
, the vice president, Paulino Matip, Thomas Cirilo, Ismail Kony, Augustine Jadala and Isaac Obuto Mamur.
This came during growing tension as independence approached and the Khartoum government was thought to be trying to stir up dissensions among former rivals in the south.
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...
.
Early career
Paulino belongs to the Bul section of the Nuer people.He joined the Anyanya
Anyanya
The Anyanya were a southern Sudanese separatist rebel army formed during the First Sudanese Civil War . A separate movement that rose during the Second Sudanese Civil War were, in turn, called Anyanya II...
separatist force during the First Sudanese Civil War
First Sudanese Civil War
The First Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1955 to 1972 between the northern part of Sudan and the southern Sudan region that demanded representation and more regional autonomy...
(1955–1972), but after the peace agreement of 1972 he did not join the Sudanese army. In 1975 he again became a rebel in Bilpam and moved to Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
.
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....
started in 1983, and was to continue until 2005.
Paulino became a member of 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 ....
, and in 1985 returned to Unity State (Western Upper Nile), armed and supported by the government. He was opposed to 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) which had attacked Ananya II in 1983.
Fighting with Brigadier Omar al-Bashir
Omar al-Bashir
Lieutenant General Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir is the current President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister...
, then an army officer but soon to lead a coup and become president of Sudan, early in 1989 he recaptured Mayom
Mayom, South Sudan
Mayom is a community in Unity State of South Sudan to the west of Bentiu. It is the headquarters of Mayom County.-Location:Mayom was a major cattle trading center in Western Upper Nile , in Bul Nuer territory....
in Unity State from the SPLA.
In 1991, 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 faction.
Paulino's Bul Nuer territory around Mankien
Mankien
Mankien 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...
and Mayom
Mayom, South Sudan
Mayom is a community in Unity State of South Sudan to the west of Bentiu. It is the headquarters of Mayom County.-Location:Mayom was a major cattle trading center in Western Upper Nile , in Bul Nuer territory....
in Unity state is close to both Kordofan and Bahr al-Ghazal and well situated for trade. He established an autonomous trading empire dealing in locally grown sorghum and in cattle looted from the Dinka people or purchased in the cattle market at Ler. After the Nasir faction led by 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...
split from the SPLA mainstream, Paulino nominally joined this faction but in practice retained his independence of action. His headquarters grew in importance as a centre for trade between the Arabs and Western Nuer, exchanging manufactured goods for cattle.
SSDF leader
After signature of the Khartoum Peace Agreement of 1997Khartoum Peace Agreement of 1997
The Khartoum Peace Agreement of 1997 was an agreement made on 21 April 1997 between the Khartoum-based government of Sudan and various militia leaders from South Sudan during the Second Sudanese Civil War ....
, Paulino's forces were technically incorporated into the South Sudan Defense Forces (SSDF). In September 1997 he tried unsuccessfully to become governor of Unity State.
The government recognized his militia, the South Sudan Unity Movement/Army (SSUM/A), in March 1998. The government supplied arms and ammunition and named Paulino a Major General in the Sudan Armed Forces.
Riek's opposition to his governorship bid had caused a rupture between the two, and in July 1998 Paulino's troops took and sacked Ler, Riek's former base.
Although the SSUM became fragmented, with fighting between units led by rival commanders, it was the most powerful militia of people from the south that opposed the SPLA in the war.
Between 1998 and 2003 Paulino fought on the government side, forcibly removing civilians from the Block 5A
Block 5A, South Sudan
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....
oil concession area, and assisting in clearances from other oil blocks.
In 1998-1999, Paulino's fighters and government troops clashed with Riek Machar's SSDF forces in a struggle for control of the Unity state oilfields.
Paulino's fighters forced Tito Biel
Tito Biel
Tito Biel Chuor was a high-ranking commander in the South Sudan Defense Forces during the Second Sudanese Civil War ....
, a high-ranking SSDF commander, to evacuate Leer
Leer, South Sudan
Leer is a small town in Unity State in South Sudan. It is the headquarters of Leer County.-Location:Leer is in Dok Nuer territory.It is located in Block 5A, an important oil-producing area in the north of South Sudan....
early in 1999. Tito Biel later declared that he had gone over to the SPLA.
Riek himself resigned from the government and SSDF in 2000, forming a separate militia named the Sudan People's Democratic Forces, and in 2002 agree to merge this force with the SPLA.
As of April 2004 Paulino was chief of staff of the SSDF, and had wide-ranging power over the inhabitants of the Bentiu
Bentiu
-Location:Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, near the International border with the Republic of Sudan. This location lies approximately , by road, northwest of Juba, the capital and largest city in the country. Bentiu sits on the southern banks of the Bahr...
, Mayoum and Mankin areas of Unity State. Despite his title, he had less control over Nuer outside the Bul Nuer area, and even in his home area did not have complete control.
Although opposed to the SPLA and receiving help from the government, the SSDF party as opposed to the militia was suspicious of the north and in favor of some measure of independence.
In the spring of 2004, SSDF militias in the Shilluk Kingdom burned villages and displaced thousands of people on government orders. The SSDF leaders including Paulino, Gordon Kuang, and Benson Kuany made their disgust with this action clear.
Post war career
After the war ended in January 2005, the status of the SSDF was not at first clear. On 30 June 2005, Paulino Matip met with John GarangJohn Garang
John Garang de Mabior was a Sudanese politician and rebel leader. From 1983 to 2005, he led the Sudan People's Liberation Army during the Second Sudanese Civil War, and following a peace agreement he briefly served as First Vice President of Sudan from January 2005 until he died in a July 2005...
in Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
to discuss the composition of the new army and the position of SSDF fighters in this army.
In 2006 Paulino signed the Juba Declaration of 8 January 2006
Juba Declaration of 8 January 2006
The Juba Declaration of 8 January 2006, formally the Juba Declaration on Unity and Integration between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army And the South Sudan Defence Forces January 8, 2006, laid out the basis for unifying rival military forces in South Sudan following the end of the Second...
and integrated into the SPLA.
He was appointed deputy Commander in Chief of the SPLA.
More than 50,000 of Paulino's forces were integrated into the SPLA and other organized forces, but he retained some former SSDF soldiers as a personal bodyguard.
However, tension remained high. In October 2006 Paulino aired accusations that his troops were being sidelined in the appointments being made within the SPLA.
In May 2007 Paulino had to dispel rumors that he had died after seeking medical treatment in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
In August 2008 he visited the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for medical treatment.
In May 2009 Paulino was promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant General while Major General James Hoth Mai was promoted to Lieutenant General and appointed the SPLA’s Chief of Staff.
In October 2009 it was reported that around 300 of Matip's guards were being airlifted to Juba by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
A week before there had been a clash between soldiers guarding Matip's residence in Bentiu
Bentiu
-Location:Bentiu is located in Rubkona County, Unity State, in northern South Sudan, near the International border with the Republic of Sudan. This location lies approximately , by road, northwest of Juba, the capital and largest city in the country. Bentiu sits on the southern banks of the Bahr...
and another SPLA unit in which one report said ten people died, mainly soldiers.
Another report gave the casualties as 15 soldiers and three civilians dead and 31 others injured.
According to Riek Machar, now Deputy President of South Sudan, Paulino Matip's house was attacked by heavily armed soldiers supported by tanks. In a public letter, Matip accused the SPLA, its Commander-in-Chief, Salva Kiir Mayardit
Salva Kiir Mayardit
Salva Kiir Mayardit is the first President of the Republic of South Sudan.-Sudanese civil wars:In the late 1960s, Kiir joined the Anyanya in the First Sudanese Civil War. By the time of the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement, he was a low-ranking officer...
and the state governor Taban Deng Gai
Taban Deng Gai
Taban Deng Gai is a South Sudanese politician. He has served as governor of Unity State since 30 September 2005.In the April 2010 elections the state electoral body announced that Taban Deng Gai won by 137,662 votes, beating runner-up Angelina Teny who won 63,561 votes.The defeated parties said in...
of being involved in plotting the attack.
In March 2011 a presidential adviser said a plot had been discovered to assassinate 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...
, the vice president, Paulino Matip, Thomas Cirilo, Ismail Kony, Augustine Jadala and Isaac Obuto Mamur.
This came during growing tension as independence approached and the Khartoum government was thought to be trying to stir up dissensions among former rivals in the south.