page_title: Wau, South Sudan
section_title: South Sudanese Civil War
hierarchical_section_title: Wau, South Sudan / History / South Sudanese Civil War
caption_attribution_description: English: Refugee camp at the Catholic Cathedral of Wau town.
context_page_description: Wau is a city in northwestern South Sudan, on the western bank of the Jur River, that serves as capital for Western Bahr el Ghazal. It lies approximately 650 kilometres northwest of the capital Juba. A culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse urban center and trading hub, Wau is also the former headquarters of Western Bahr el Ghazal.
context_section_description: Following the outbreak of the South Sudanese Civil War, the town has experienced numerous clashes, massacres, and much destruction at the hands of anti-government as well as government forces. In April 2014, Nuer soldiers belonging to the local SPLA garrison mutinied after hearing of a massacre at Mapel. They clashes with SPLA loyalists, and then fled into the Bush, joining a long march of other deserters to Sudan. About 700 Nuer civilians subsequently sought protection at Wau's UNMISS base; most of them were family members of the deserted soldiers, while others were students.
  In 2016, Wau experienced heavy clashes that displaced much of its Fertit population and led to widespread destruction. In April 2017, Dinka soldiers of the SPLA and Mathiang Anyoor militiamen carried out a massacre of non-Dinka civilians in the town, killing up to 50 people, and displacing thousands.
caption: The refugee camp at Wau town's Catholic cathedral, where around 8,500 IDPs had found shelter during the 2016–18 Wau clashes.[7]
exif: {}