Origin of the conflict

In December 2003 the Ethiopian army, together with local civilians (collectively called highlanders) launched a massive attack on Anuak civilians in Gambella town.  For three days houses were burned down, women were raped, people were forced to flee and over 400 people were killed.

Chronological time frame

1980s- The Anuak are a people that live in Ethiopia in the Gambella region, and across the border in South Sudan. The Anuak share the Gambella region with four other ethnic groups.  Up until the 1980’s the Anuak were by far the largest ethnic group in the Gambella region. In the 80s the ruling regime’s forced resettlement programs led to an influx of other Ethiopians into the region, locally called highlanders.  Additionally Nuer people from South Sudan fled the violence and joined Ethiopian Nuer. A massive number of them settled in the region. As a result the Anuak  are now a minority in the region.

1990s -2000 The fear of eroded Anuak culture and the loss of political power fed ethnic tensions in this region from early 1990s. The 1990s and early 2000s show frequent ethnic clashes between Anuak and Nuer, but also between Anuak and the highlanders. These clashes generally came in the form of Anuak ambushing highlanders, leaving scores of victims.  Highlanders started to feel that the regions political leaders were unable or even unwilling to protect them.

2000 - 2003 Since the early 2000s the federal Ethiopian military launched several military operations to root out armed Anuak groups operating in the Gambella region, in violent ambushes. The Anuak armed groups are loosely and diffusely organized and do not share a common set of goals. Some operate out of Ethiopia, some out of South Sudan. The federal presence in the Gambella region became permanent as the region’s political leaders remained unwilling or unable to stop the ethnic violence between the Anuak and the highlanders. Several high ranking Anuaks were arrested and put in jail. The Ethiopian military set up permanent posts throughout the region. The army was made up of Ethiopian soldiers from other parts of Ethiopia, just as the highlanders. Ethiopian soldiers stationed at the region began to identify themselves with the highlanders in their conflict with the Anuak.

December 13^th 2003 - A convoy carrying several employees of the federal government as well as its police-escorts is ambushed 30 km out of Gambella town. All 8 occupants of the convoy are killed and their bodies are badly mutilated. All victims are highlanders. News spreads thourghout Gambella town and a large crowd of highlanders gathers in the center of town to protest the killings, widely seen as perpetrated by Anuak. A group of soldiers is sent out to the ambush site, and they return to Gambella town with the victims’ bodies. The mutilated bodies are shown to the crowd, and violence sparks. Groups of highlander civilians as well as soldiers flock to Anuak neighborhoods and start systematically searching for Anuak. Homes are burned and women are raped. The rampage stopped on December 15^th, leaving over 400 people killed.

Involved actors

Anuak - an etnic group living in the Gambella region. Influx of other ethnic groups made a the Anuak into a majority. Fear of losing their land, their political power and their culture sparks ethnic violence throughout the years. The Anuak are not well-organized but splinter into many groups as well as individuals that carry out ambushes, targeted at the Nuer and the highlanders.

Highlanders - A name that is used to encompass all ethnic groups that are seen as ‘foreign’ to the Gambella region. They are Ethiopians from other regions that were forcefully resettled into the region. Highlanders felt targeted in the Gambella region and felt they were not protected by the political leaders. When federal government took over the region, and soldiers were stationed throughout Gambella, highlanders identified with them and felt protected. Years of violence against highlanders, continuing fear and brooding resentments sparked into violence in 2003, when the federal army cooperated in their revenge.

ENDF - Ethiopian army. The federal army is made up of soldiers from throughout Ethiopia, making the soldiers into highlanders. Being stationed in the region they start to identify with the highlanders and after the violent attack on the convoy, the soldiers and the civilians get carried away in violent reprisals.

Reaction of the international community

No international actors have been actively involved in the conflict. Human Rights Watch has documented numerous human rights abuses since 2003, such as extra-judicial killings and the rape of Anuak women by the ENDF.  On the other side armed Anuak have been responsible for human rights abuses, carrying out attacks on highlanders.  These human rights abuses on both sides keep fueling ethnic grudges and can spark into massive violence at any time.

Sources

Human Rights Watch Report: “Targeting the Anuak: Human Rights Violations and Crimes against Humanity in Ethiopia’s Gambella Region” (March 2005)

Wikipedia on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anuak_people

Articles on IRIN news: http://www.irinnews.org/AdvancedSearchResults.aspx?KW=anuak