SOLLIMS Sampler Special Edition, May 2017 | Page 7

2. LESSONS
a. TOPIC. Leadership Failure by UN Peacekeeping Leaders –
Malakal Violence, South Sudan (Lesson #2552)
Observation.
Leadership failure – by UN peacekeeping leaders with responsibility for the
Malakal Protection of Civilians (POC) site, South Sudan in February 2016 – was
a contributory factor to spoilers’ gaining access to this UN site and the resultant
deaths of civilians and destruction of property. Senior leadership’s failure to act
on perimeter security issues and on early warning signs, along with failure to act
in a timely manner on incidents of violence against civilians, amounts to a case of
gross negligence – a case that offers valuable leadership tips.
Discussion.
Event Summary: In February 2016, Malakal POC was an overcrowded camp /
POC site with some 47,000 people – including members of Dinka and Shilluk
communities which had existing grudges/disputes between them, as well as the
Nuer community. On 16 February, two men attempted to enter Juliet Gate of the
Malakal POC with rifle magazines, but were stopped by contract guards, then
questioned at the gate by UN Formed Police Unit (FPU) members; however, men
“in Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) uniforms” from outside the gate then
intervened, beating one of the FPU personnel and allowing the two detained men
to get away. During the evening of 16 February, small-scale inter-communal
clashes between Dinka and Shilluk IDPs took place.
On 17 February, the fencing along the eastern perimeter was ripped open
near Block P, a Dinka area in Sector 2, less than 10 meters from an UNMISS
sentry post. Small clashes again broke out between Dinka and Shilluk youth in
the evening of 17 February. UNMISS sent forces to the area between Sectors 1
and 2; the situation briefly calmed. Hours later, around 10:30 p.m., violence
erupted again, largely focused within Sector 2 of the camp, where the Dinka and
Nuer were located. Initially, the parties involved in the clashes (Dinka and
Shilluk) employed rocks, spears, and machetes, but the situation deteriorated
when guns were fired and grenades were thrown. Nuer members joined the
fighting against Dinka. Many of the IDPs who lived in Sector 2, or in Sector 3
further south, fled their homes for Sector 1. Nuer and Shilluk fighters eventually
retreated back to their shelters, but gunshots continued intermittently for several
hours. Around 3 a.m. on 18 February, the situation calmed for the night.
On 18 February, fighters “in SPLA uniforms,” who had already been spotted
along the perimeter during the night of 17 February, began entering the same
breach in the eastern perimeter during the period 10:20 a.m.-11 a.m. on 18
February. During this time, the fighting resumed at an even greater intensity than
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