Beginnings of Conflict
Beginning in early 1983, radio broadcasts by South Sudanese rebels alarmed the people of South Kordofan and increased tensions in the area.
Soon after, weapons started to appear on the black market. The military started recalling retirees and drafting young men for service. The weapons trade was flourishing with gun sellers roaming the Baggara villages and nomad camps. A young man without a machine gun was just like a woman. To be a man, you had to have a machine gun. The Baggara started to organize themselves as militia. The militiamen given themselves roles to protect the Baggara camps and fight to defend the villages.
Nomeri's regime began arming Messiria Zurug and Messiria Humr to balance the rebel attack on Abyei area. The rebels attacked a Chevron Oil Company site, killing four Chevron employees. Also, they attacked the Baggara campuses to acquire cattle for food. Now the war completely broke at southwest of South Kordofan. By the end of Normeri's regime, in 1985, South Kordofan was in chaos although other parts of Kordofan were peaceful.
During, Al Sadiq Al Mahdi era, the Messiria Zurug and Messiria Humr were armored, the paramilitary forces became legal and carrying weapons was legal. Everyone had AK-47 machine gun. During this time rebels attacked the southern part of South Kordofan, especially Gardoud village, around Talodi city. The Baggara were heavily victimized in Gardoud; sixty Baggara were dead, 82 wounded; see the first Paragraph in this report . Religious leaders and Imams, were publicly executed, women were raped, houses were burned and cattle herds were raided. South Kordofan now is a war zone. People evacuated the cities, traders stopped their trades, and all other tribes and ethnic groups not from South Kordofan left the region.
Read more about this topic: Hawazma Tribe
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