1987 Dhein Massacre

The 1987 Dhein Massacre began on the evening of Friday, 27 March 1987, when the Muraheleen militia (mainly from the Rizeigat tribe) attacked a church where 25 Dinkas had gathered for evening prayers. Subsequently, they or another group targeted nearby Dinka homes, setting fire to several houses and killing 5 or 7 individuals. That Friday night, some Dinkas fled, with some hiding with local families in Dhein, while others sought refuge in Hillat Sikka Hadid, a neighbourhood near the railway station, where they were under police protection.

On Saturday morning, 28 March 1987, officials moved the Dinkas from Hillat Sikka Hadid to the railway station to evacuate them from the town for their safety. They were placed in eight railway wagons, with the remainder staying in the station's police centre. Later, a large group of Muraheleen and other Dhein residents, mostly Rizeigat, stormed the railway station and attacked the Dinkas. By sunset on Saturday, over a thousand Dinkas had been killed. The surviving Dinkas were then transported to Nyala by train.

The massacre in Dhein resulted in over a thousand Dinka deaths and the kidnapping and enslavement of an unknown number of Dinka children and women by some Rizeigat Arabs.^[1]