The SSLM was formed in the context of widespread factional fighting among the Western Nuer ethnic group of Unity , South Sudan , who had signed a peace treaty with the government on 21 April 1997 . The pro-government SSDF militia , comprising a large number of Nuer , had divided into warring factions led by Riek Machar and Paulino Matip . As Riek was being defeated , opposing government-aligned militias attacked civilians around the oilfields in South Sudan , causing a stream of Nuer refugees to flee towards SPLA-controlled Bahr al-Ghazal for protection . At least two previously pro-government Nuer militias aligned themselves with the SPLA , while the few Nuer loyal to the politically weakened Riek began to abandon the government 's cause . The fact that Nuer refugees were being protected by the Dinka-dominated SPLA led to an unusual conference in Wunlit , sponsored by the New Sudan Council of Churches and the safety of which was guaranteed by the SPLA . Groups of Western Nuer and Dinka from Tonj , Rumbek and Yirol took part , leading to a peace agreement in March 1999 to end the ethnic fighting . The creation of the SSLM was accompanied by the announcement that most of the Nuer had formally broken away from the government . Between November 1999 and January 2000 , the group was known as the '' ' Upper Nile Provisional Military Command Council ' '' ( UMCC )
Wunlit
Wunlit Peace Conference
South Sudan Liberation Movement