A/HRC/40/CRP.1 Unity State has been one of the main centres of the conflict since it broke out in 2013.1113 Following the outbreak of fighting in Juba in December 2013, the Nuer of the SPLA 4 Division based in Rubkona, near Bentiu, quickly defected to the opposition in reaction to the targeting killings of Nuers in Juba. These defections were significant enough to leave the SPLA without an effective fighting force in Bentiu, leaving them to rely on the Bul Nuer and forces from Bahr el Ghazal and Sudan. Clashes ensued in Bentiu and beyond in late December 2013. By the end of January 2014, Abiemnom, Bentiu, Pariang, Rubkona, and most of Mayom County, were under the control of the SPLA. Major offensives were launched by the SPLA and affiliated forces into the SPLA-IO held areas of southern Unity from February to April 2014 and April to August 2015.1114 These offensives resulted in some of the worst violations of human rights and international humanitarian law of the conflict. In October 2015, with the introduction of the 28 States Decree,1115 Unity State was divided into three states. In the north, Ruweng State was formed of Abiemnom and Pariang Counties, with Pariang as its capital, which is dominated by the Padang Dinka. The middle section of Unity State became Northern Liech State, which was created out of Rubkona, Guit, Mayom, and Koch Counties with Bentiu as its capital. Southern Liech State was created out of Leer, Mayendit, and Panyijiar Counties with Leer as its capital. Although the August 2015 ARCSS provided for the SPLA-IO to nominate the Governor for Unity State,1116 President Kiir appointed the Governors of the new states.1117 The President appointed Bul Nuer Joseph Nguen Monytuil, the former Governor of Unity State, as the Governor of Northern Liech State and Stephen Taker Riek Dong, a former Leer County Commissioner, as the Governor of Southern Liech State. Taker Riek had previously been a highly unpopular County Commissioner as he had reportedly led attacks on villages around Leer during the 2015 government offensive.1118 Following the events of July 2016, when then-First Vice President Riek Machar fled the country and Taban Deng Gai was installed in his position as First Vice-President, the SPLA-IO split between those who remained loyal to Machar and those who followed Taban Deng Gai. Taban Deng Gai, a Jikany Nuer, also hails from Unity, specifically from Guit County. Since the split of the SPLA-IO in 2016, Kuergini in Guit County, to the east of Bentiu, has been an important base for SPLA-IO (TD) forces. The split between the SPLAIO (RM) and the SPLA-IO (TD) reignited the cycle of violence in Unity State. When Taban Deng Gai aligned with the government, his SPLA-IO (TD) forces began recruiting and mobilized against the forces remaining loyal to former First Vice President Riek Machar.1119 The main SPLA formation in former Unity State is the SPLA 4 Division with its headquarters in Rubkona, just to the north of Bentiu.1120 The 4 Division maintains a strong presence in all the other main towns of former Unity State. The divisional emblem of 4 Division, worn as a patch on the soldiers’ uniforms, is an oil-derrick, and confirms this formation’s strategic purpose – the security of the oilfields of Unity State. Indeed, a large proportion of South Sudan’s oil wealth lies beneath the soil of Unity State; however, oil production in Unity State was shut down at the beginning of the war and only restarted production in August 2018.1121 With the tight financial constraints faced by the Government, securing stability to get the Unity oil fields operating again is of For a detailed analysis of the conflict in Unity state during the early period of the war see: Joshua Craze et al., “A State of Disunity: Conflict Dynamics in Unity State, South Sudan, 2013–15”, Small Arms Survey, 2016. 1114 Joshua Craze, et al., “A State of Disunity: Conflict Dynamics in Unity State, South Sudan, 2013–15”, Small Arms Survey, 2016. 1115 Establishment Order 36/2015 for the Creation of 28 States, 2 October 2015. 1116 ARCSS, Article 15.1. 1117 Gurtong, “Kiir Appoints Governors Of 28 Newly Created States”, 25 December 2015. 1118 Human Security Baseline Assessment for South Sudan and Sudan, “The Conflict in Unity Sate”, Small Arms Survey, 23 February 2016. 1119 Witness 863, ERN 101609-101613. 1120 Ruweng State in the north has remained strongly pro-Government, with regular SPLA forces holding Pariang County with the 10 Brigade of 4 Division based there. Abiemnom County in the west of Ruweng State, and Mayom County in the west of Northern Liech state are controlled by the troops of Major General Matthew Puljang who are also loyal to the Government and indeed often referred to as the ‘Special Forces Division’ of the SPLA. 1121 GPOC presentation, retrieved at the Oil & Power Conference 2018, retrieved at https://africaoilandpower.com/2018/11/26/southsudan-oil-power-2018-presentations/. 1113 142