The Thuri, also known as Shatt, and
Luo people
The Luo are a Nilotic peoples, Nilotic-speaking ethnic group native to Nyanza Province, western Kenya and the Mara Region of northern Tanzania. The Luo are the fourth-largest ethnic group (10.65%) in Kenya, after the Kikuyu people, Kikuyu (1 ...
of
South Sudan
South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
.
They speak
DheThuri, a
Luo language that is similar to the
Jur and
Dinka language
Dinka (natively , or simply ) is a Nilotic dialect cluster spoken by the Dinka people, a major ethnic group of South Sudan. There are several main varieties, such as Padang, Rek, Agaar, Ciec, Malual, Apaak, Aliab, Bor, Hol, Nyarweng, Twic Eas ...
s. Having been perceived as close to the
Dinka people
The Dinka people () are a Nilotes, Nilotic ethnic group native to South Sudan. The Dinka mostly live along the Nile, from Mangalla-Bor to Renk, South Sudan, Renk, in the region of Bahr el Ghazal (region of South Sudan), Bahr el Ghazal, Upper Nil ...
, the Thuri were targets of ethnic violence during the
Second Sudanese Civil War
The Second Sudanese Civil War was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, Sudan People's Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil Wa ...
, when the "
Army of Peace
The Army of Peace () was a large alliance of Fertit tribal militias in Western Bahr el Ghazal during the Second Sudanese Civil War. Although initially armed by the Sudanese government in order to fight against South Sudanese separatists, the Army ...
", a mostly
Fertit pro-government militia, attacked them as supporters of the mostly Dinka
SPLA rebels. This caused many Thuri to take up arms and to join the SPLA in order to take revenge against other Fertit groups.
References
Bibliography
*
Ethnic groups in South Sudan
Luo peoples
Northern Bahr el Ghazal
Western Bahr el Ghazal
Warrap (state)
{{SouthSudan-ethno-group-stub