The Arrow Boys are a militia operating in the Western Equatoria region of South Sudan. The militia sprung up as a self-defense unit who get their name from their use of bows and arrows supposedly treated with poison, and other traditional weapons.[1]
Lord's Resistance Army rebellion
[edit]During the insurgency by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, the Arrow Boys were formed in Teso in the Eastern Region as a self-defense militia.[2] As the Lord's Resistance Army fled Uganda into South Sudan, the militia spread there as well in order to defend against the LRA.
South Sudanese Civil War
[edit]When Dinka cattle herders, allegedly backed by the SPLA, occupied farmland, Azande youth rose up into militias mostly with the Arrow Boys,[3] whose leader Alfred Karaba Futiyo Onyang declared allegiance to SPLM-IO[4] and claimed to have occupied parts of Western Equatoria.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Feature stories:Fighting back". UNMIS. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Seminar:As Sharp as an Arrow:Reconstructing the 'Arrow Boys' Phenomenon in Eastern Uganda". Leiden University. 17 February 2014. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Horrific attacks prompt South Sudan's communities to form armed groups". the guardian. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "SPLA-IO welcomes Arrow Boys to its fighting force". Sudan Tribune. 15 November 2015. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
- ^ "Arrow Boys say they occupy several areas of Western Equatoria state". Sudan Tribune. 15 December 2015. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2016.