SUMMARY

The Bari and Mundari are two ethnic groups in Southern Sudan (South Sudan after its independence in 2011) that live close to each other. The Bari lives in the far south close to the border of Uganda and the Mundari borders them to the north. Both of the groups speak a language called Bari and the culture of the Bari and Mundari are similar. The relation between the two groups has historically been good, partly explained by that although the groups share a common boundary they have not shared the same pasture in the past. However, the intensification of conflict in Equatoria in the 1980s and 1990s led to that the Mundari moved a large number of cattle into a Bari area. Mundari is a pastoralist group whilst the Bari is agriculturalists and the area to where the Mundari cattle were moved was used by the Bari for cultivation. The cattle destroyed Bari crops which led to a violent confrontation.

After these confrontations the relation between the groups was calm for a long time. This was partially explained by NGO’s such as Oxfam being engaged in organizing meeting between leaders of the two communities. The Mundari was better armed than the Bari and had militias at an early stage. When the Bari formed militias in the early 2000's it led to a more balanced relationship between the two groups, something that has been stated as a contributing factor to peace between the groups. However, this calm was broken in 2009 when the groups clashed again.

The non-state conflict between the Bari and the Mundari was first included in UCDP data in 2009. In May that year fighting in the Jebel Lado area resulted in at least 40 battle-related deaths.