Dokument #1198674
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
Detailed information on recruitment methods
of the SPLA could not be found among the sources currently
available to the IRBDC.
One source indicates that young Dinka (an ethnic group) men from
the densely populated districts of Aweil and Gogrial joined the
SPLA in the early period of its formation (Amnesty International,
AI Index AFR 54/17/89, 6). The same source adds that the Dinka and
Luo ethnic groups have provided most of the SPLA's support in Bahr
al-Ghazal. In late 1987 "senior commanders with virtually their
entire units" defected from the Anyanya Two (also written Anya Nya
2 or in other similar forms) movement to join the SPLA
(Ibid.).
Amnesty International makes direct references to SPLA recruitment
in two sections of the above-mentioned document: in late 1985 the
group reportedly began recruiting among the non- Arab communities
of the Southern Blue Nile, and later, around mid-1987, its Volcano
battalion did the same in the Nuba Mountains area of South Kordofan
(Ibid.). However, the source provides no details on how this
recruitment was performed.
Another report states it is SPLA policy to ensure that each of its
units is comprised of people who are from the area in which the
unit is operating (Africa Watch Mar. 1990, 153). The report points
out, however, that this was not the case in Equatoria by March 1990
(Ibid.).
One of the attached articles from Africa Confidential makes
a reference to "child soldiers" and mentions the existence of camps
housing refugee children under rebel control (13 Sept. 1991).
Another recent source includes a reference to 10,000 children being
held captive by rebel forces in the South (Sudan Update 24
Sept. 1991, 3), although it adds that the leader of the SPLA had
denied the 10,000 children were being trained as soldiers
(Ibid., 5).
The attached Africa Watch report includes references to the
exploitation of children by the SPLA, although they seem to be used
mostly as porters and for other non-combat work (Africa Watch Mar.
1990, 159-161). A source from the New York-based African-American
Institute stated that the SPLA draws much of its support from the
southern population, which is rebelling against what it perceives
as unequal or abusive treatment by the central government (9 Oct.
1991). The SPLA has been known to have committed excesses despite
its efforts to present a rights-respecting image; however, forced
recruitment of combatants has not been mentioned in any verifiable
reports available to the source (Ibid.).
Two recent reports (found in the IRBDC's Indexed Media Review,
available at your Regional Documentation Centre) contain references
to forced recruitment. However, one of the reports mentions the
issue as part of the accusations levelled at the SPLA chief by
dissident rebel leaders. The report states that the dissident rebel
leaders accused the SPLA chief of "a reign of terror, forcible
recruitment and human rights abuses" (Reuters 1 Sept. 1991).
The other recent report referring to rebel forced recruitment by
the rebels was disseminated by the BBC, although its source is
actually the official Sudan News Agency. The news item quotes 783
alleged SPLM (Sudan People's Liberation Movement, whose armed wing
is the SPLA) deserters who claimed they had been taken by force to
recruitment camps in Ethiopia (BBC Summary 17 July 1991).
It must be pointed out, however, that Africa Watch and other
sources have reported in the past, particularly since late 1990,
that access to reliable current information on events taking place
in conflict areas of Sudan is limited.
For your information, please find attached a copy of the latest
article on Sudan from Africa Confidential and a section on
the conduct of war by the SPLA from a March 1990 Africa Watch
report (listed below).
Amnesty International. (AI Index: AFR
54/17/89). "Sudan - Human Rights Violations in the Context of Civil
War."
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 17 July
1991. "Sudan in Brief; Seven Hundred and Eighty-Three SPLM Rebels
Respond to Peace Call." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 1 September 1991, BC Cycle.
"Sudanese Guerrilla Chief Crushed Rebellion, Paper." (NEXIS)
Sudan Update [London, U.K.]. 24
September 1991. News items on pages 3 and 5.
Africa Confidential [London,
U.K.]. 13 Sept. 1991. "Sudan: A Moment of Truth for the SPLA."
Africa Watch. March 1990. Denying
"The Honor of Living" - Sudan A Human Rights Disaster. New
York/Washington, D.C./London, U.K.: Africa Watch, pp. 153-161.