# Gabriel Tanginye

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**Gabriel Gatwech Chan** (1960[1] – 5 January 2017), better known by his [nom de guerre](/source/Nom_de_guerre) **Tanginye** (meaning "long pipe"),[2] was a South Sudanese military officer and rebel commander of various ethnic [Nuer](/source/Nuer_people) militant groups during the [Second Sudanese Civil War](/source/Second_Sudanese_Civil_War) and [South Sudanese Civil War](/source/South_Sudanese_Civil_War).

During the [South Sudanese Civil War](/source/South_Sudanese_Civil_War), Tanginye allied with the [SPLA-IO](/source/SPLA-IO) and later [Lam Akol](/source/Lam_Akol)'s militia, a Juba linked rebel group called the National Democratic Movement (NDM) and became its [chief of staff](/source/Chief_of_staff).[3] In January 2017, he visited a NDM-allied group, the [Tiger Faction New Forces](/source/Tiger_Faction_New_Forces), in the Hamra area in the northern [Upper Nile](/source/Upper_Nile_(state)). In course of this visit, the Tigers were attacked by SPLM-IO-affiliated fighters belonging to the militia of [John Uliny](/source/John_Uliny), and Tanginye was killed in action alongside most of the fighters from the Tigers faction.[1][4][5]

Tanginye led a militia in southern Sudan allied to the [Khartoum](/source/Khartoum) government during the Second Sudanese Civil War.[6] Members of the Sudanese military loyal to Tanginye in [Malakal](/source/Malakal) [clashed with](/source/Battle_of_Malakal) the [Sudan People's Liberation Army](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) (SPLA) in 2006, killing about 150 people, and in 2009 in breach of the peace deal.[6] In April 2011, clashes between his militia and the SPLA in the state of [Jonglei](/source/Jonglei) killed at least 57 according to government officials.[6] Shortly thereafter, Tanginye surrendered to SPLA forces and was placed under house arrest in [Juba](/source/Juba,_Southern_Sudan) awaiting charges against him.[7]

## Early life and role in the Sudanese Civil Wars

During the [First Sudanese Civil War](/source/First_Sudanese_Civil_War), Tanginye joined the [Anyanya](/source/Anyanya) separatist movement as a [child soldier](/source/Child_soldier). Tanginye disliked the [Addis Ababa Agreement](/source/Addis_Ababa_Agreement_(1972)) that ended the civil war in 1972, thus he joined the predominantly [Nuer](/source/Nuer_people) [Anyanya II](/source/Anyanya_II) rebel group. In 1984, during the Second Sudanese Civil War, he and other [Anyanya II](/source/Anyanya_II) leaders allied with the [Sudanese](/source/Sudan) government in order to fight the [Sudan People's Liberation Army](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) (SPLA), predominantly made up of those from the [Dinka](/source/Dinka_people) ethnic group. While large numbers of the [Anyanya II](/source/Anyanya_II) defected to the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) around 1988, Tanginye and his forces stayed allied to the government. Tanginye and his forces joined the [SPLA-Nasir](/source/SPLA-Nasir) faction after it split from the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) in 1991. Tanginye became a part of the [South Sudan Defence Forces](/source/South_Sudan_Defence_Forces_(militia)) as part of the [Khartoum Peace Agreement of 1997](/source/Khartoum_Peace_Agreement_of_1997). After the defection of [Lam Akol](/source/Lam_Akol) in October 2003, the Sudanese government feared losing the [Upper Nile](/source/Upper_Nile_(state)) area. They provided Tanginye's forces with boats, trucks, guns, and ammunition, which Tanginye used in a campaign in the modern [Western Nile State](/source/Western_Nile_State) in 2004 designed to rid the area of [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) support.[8] The campaign killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands of civilians through its use of burning and looting villages. Tanginye was made a [major general](/source/Major_general) of the [Sudanese Armed Forces](/source/Sudanese_Armed_Forces) in 2004. Unlike many of the pro-Sudan militiamen who were integrated into the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army), Tanginye did not sign the [Juba Declaration of 8 January 2006](/source/Juba_Declaration_of_8_January_2006).[2] However, Brig. John Both did integrate into the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) and took about 70 percent of Tanginye's force with him, leaving the remaining forces estimated at less than 500.[8]

## 2005-2011

After the [Comprehensive Peace Agreement](/source/Comprehensive_Peace_Agreement) ended the [Second Sudanese Civil War](/source/Second_Sudanese_Civil_War) in 2005, Tanginye's forces became part of the [Joint Integrated Units](/source/Joint_Integrated_Units). He mostly stayed in [Khartoum](/source/Khartoum), only occasionally visiting the South.[2] In 2006, the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) offered Tanginye the post of Commissioner of [Fangak](/source/Fangak_County), but tensions increased when Tanginye asked to keep his 'personal' [SAF](/source/Sudanese_Armed_Forces) forces and SAF position.[8] Clashes broke out between the [SAF](/source/Sudanese_Armed_Forces) and [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) components of the Joint Integrated Unit in [Malakal](/source/Malakal), leaving about 150 dead in the [Battle of Malakal](/source/Battle_of_Malakal).[6] When Tanginye visited Malakal in 2009 to visit relatives, clashes also broke out between units of the [SAF](/source/Sudanese_Armed_Forces) that were former members of Tanginye's militia and the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army), leaving about 60 dead.[9][10] In September 2010, Tanginye was offered [amnesty](/source/Amnesty) by [Salva Kiir](/source/Salva_Kiir), and he visited [Juba](/source/Juba) and [Bentiu](/source/Bentiu) and met with [Nuer](/source/Nuer_people) members of the [SPLM](/source/SPLM). He reportedly agreed to join the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army), but remained quiet the following months. Members of the [SAF](/source/Sudanese_Armed_Forces) in Malakal [Joint Integrated Unit](/source/Joint_Integrated_Units) who remained loyal to Tanginye became concerned about their uncertain future, with some opposing the idea of Tanginye joining the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army), and in early February 2011 clashes broke out among the [SAF](/source/Sudanese_Armed_Forces) units in Malakal, which soon spread to other towns in the [Upper Nile State](/source/Upper_Nile_State) including [Paloich](/source/Paloich). These clashes resulted in about 50 dead.[2] In mid-February 2011, [Pagan Amum](/source/Pagan_Amum) reported that Tanginye had returned to the South in January with 300 men driving trucks with mounted machine guns supplied by [Khartoum](/source/Khartoum). Pagan said that Tanginye was on the move to [Fangak County](/source/Fangak_County) to join [George Athor's rebellion](/source/George_Athor's_rebellion).[2] In early April 2011, Tanginye assembled some of his men at Kaldok, [Fangak County](/source/Fangak_County), supposedly for integration into the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army). On 20 April, an officer who refused to integrate his forces was killed. On 23–24 April, Tanginye's forces clashed with [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Gatwich Gai, leaving 7 SPLA and 57 of Tanginye's men dead.[6] On 25 April, Tanginye and 1,300 of his men surrendered to the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army). He was then placed under house arrest in [Juba](/source/Juba).[11]

## Independent South Sudan

Tanginye was still detained when [South Sudan](/source/South_Sudan) gained its [independence](/source/2011_South_Sudanese_independence_referendum) on 9 July 2011. However, on 7 October 2013, president [Salva Kiir](/source/Salva_Kiir) pardoned Tanginye and other former militia commanders.[12] On 29 November 2013, Tanginye was appointed a major general in the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army).[13] After the start of the [South Sudanese Civil War](/source/South_Sudanese_Civil_War), Tanginye joined the [SPLA-IO](/source/SPLA-IO). Tanginye's [Nuer](/source/Nuer_people) fighters attacked [Shilluk](/source/Shilluk_people) settlements in [Panykang County](/source/Panykang_County) during December 2013 and January 2014.[14] Tanginye's fighters were stationed in New Fangak and primarily fought [Johnson Olony](/source/Johnson_Olony)'s Agwelek Forces until they ended their alliance with the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army) on 14 May 2015. Since then, Olony's forces acted in concert with Tanginye.[15] On 23 June 2015, Tanginye and fellow [SPLA-IO](/source/SPLA-IO) general Thomas Mabor Dhol took [Malakal](/source/Malakal) from the [SPLA](/source/Sudan_People's_Liberation_Army)'s 1st Division in an opportunistic attack with a force composed mainly of troops from [Ulang](/source/Ulang_County) and [Fangak](/source/Fangak_County) counties along with some of [Olony](/source/Johnson_Olony)'s men.[16] In June 2015, Tanginye signed a letter expressing frustration with [Riek Machar](/source/Riek_Machar),[17] and in August 2015 he left the [SPLA-IO](/source/SPLA-IO) and joined [Gabriel Changson Chang](/source/Gabriel_Changson_Chang)'s Federal Democratic Party/South Sudan Armed Forces.[18] [Lam Akol](/source/Lam_Akol) then brought Tanginye into his primarily [Shilluk](/source/Shilluk_people) National Democratic Movement as its chief of staff,[3] a desperate choice given Tanginye's brutal campaigns against the Shilluk.[19] Tanginye was supposed to go to [Fangak](/source/Fangak) to raise troops for the NDM, but in January 2017 he visited a NDM-allied group, the [Tiger Faction New Forces](/source/Tiger_Faction_New_Forces), in the Hamra area in the northern Upper Nile. In course of this visit, the Tigers were attacked by SPLM-IO-affiliated fighters belonging to the militia of [John Uliny](/source/John_Uliny), and Tanginye was killed alongside most of the Tigers.[1][4][5]

## See also

- [Battle of Malakal](/source/Battle_of_Malakal)
- [George Athor's rebellion](/source/George_Athor's_rebellion)
- [Peter Gadet](/source/Peter_Gadet)

## References

1. ["Top rebel commander killed in clashes in Upper Nile"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170109191115/https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/top-rebel-commander-killed-clashes-upper-nile). Radio Tamazuj. Archived from [the original](https://radiotamazuj.org/en/article/top-rebel-commander-killed-clashes-upper-nile) on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.

1. ["Gabriel Tang Gatwich Chan ('Tang-Ginye')"](https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/full%20report_54.pdf)

1. ["SPLA-IO destroys command of government-linked rebel group"](http://www.southsudannewsagency.com/index.php/2017/01/07/spla-io-destroys-command-government-linked-rebel-group/). South Sudan News Agency. Retrieved 6 January 2017.

1. ["Another rebel commander shot dead in war-torn South Sudan"](http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article61329). *Sudan Tribune*. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2017.

1. Masura (7 January 2017). ["Another Rebel General killed in Northern Upper Nile"](http://hotinjuba.com/rebel-general-yohanis-okiech-killed-northern-upper-nile/). *Hot in Juba*. Retrieved 8 December 2017.</ <ref name="AP">["Civilians dead in South Sudan battle"](https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iGjG9whhCv3fK2pUQK5m9HkvOFig?docId=8760bf3cf28f4230838f7a530d928a4e). Associated Press. Retrieved 8 June 2011.

1. ["South Sudan clashes between army and militia kill 57"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13182109). BBCnews.com. 24 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.

1. ["South Sudan Renegade Gabriel Tanginye under house arrest - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110509003016/http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-Renegade-Gabriel,38774). *www.sudantribune.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-Renegade-Gabriel,38774) on 2011-05-09.

1. ["The South Sudan Defence Forces in the Wake of the Juba Declaration"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160617004429/http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/working-papers/HSBA-WP-01-SSDF.pdf). 19 November 2024. p. 30. Archived from [the original](http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/working-papers/HSBA-WP-01-SSDF.pdf) on 17 June 2016.

1. ["Uncertain Future: Armed Violence in Southern Sudan"](http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/working-papers/HSBA-WP-20-Armed-Violence-Southern-Sudan.pdf). 19 November 2024. p. 29.

1. ["South Sudan clashes 'killed 50'"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/mobile/africa/7915144.stm). 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2019-12-14.

1. ["South Sudan Renegade Gabriel Tanginye under house arrest - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan"](https://www.sudantribune.com/South-Sudan-Renegade-Gabriel,38774). *www.sudantribune.com*. Retrieved 2019-12-14.

1. ["S. Sudan's Kiir pardons Lam Akol, senior military leaders - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan"](https://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48352). *www.sudantribune.com*. Retrieved 2019-12-14.

1. ["Promotion of former rebels sparks tension in South Sudan military - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan"](https://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article49028). *www.sudantribune.com*. Retrieved 2019-12-14.

1. ["DISPLACED AND IMMISERATED: The Shilluk of Upper Nile in South Sudan's Civil War, 2014–19"](https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/sites/humanrightscommission.house.gov/files/documents/HSBA-Report-South-Sudan-Shilluk.pdf). p. 36.

1. ["DISPLACED AND IMMISERATED: The Shilluk of Upper Nile in South Sudan's Civil War, 2014–19"](https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/sites/humanrightscommission.house.gov/files/documents/HSBA-Report-South-Sudan-Shilluk.pdf). p. 47.

1. ["DISPLACED AND IMMISERATED: The Shilluk of Upper Nile in South Sudan's Civil War, 2014–19"](https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/sites/humanrightscommission.house.gov/files/documents/HSBA-Report-South-Sudan-Shilluk.pdf). p. 50.

1. ["Text of letter from breakaway commanders in the SPLA-iO, requesting that President Omar al-Bashir of the Khartoum regime send them arms directly | 26 June 2015"](http://sudanreeves.org/2015/06/26/text-of-letter-from-breakaway-commanders-in-the-spla-io-requesting-that-president-omar-al-bashir-send-them-arms-directly-26-june-2015/). *Sudan Research, Analysis, and Advocacy*. 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2019-12-15.

1. ["A State of Disunity: Conflict Dynamics in Unity State, South Sudan, 2013–15"](http://www.smallarmssurveysudan.org/fileadmin/docs/working-papers/HSBA-WP42-Unity-Dec-2016.pdf). 19 November 2024. p. 97.

1. ["DISPLACED AND IMMISERATED: The Shilluk of Upper Nile in South Sudan's Civil War, 2014–19"](https://humanrightscommission.house.gov/sites/humanrightscommission.house.gov/files/documents/HSBA-Report-South-Sudan-Shilluk.pdf). p. 72.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gabriel Tanginye](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Tanginye) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Tanginye?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.