The 2014 retreat from Western Bahr el Ghazal, also called the long march north,[4] was an unorganized withdrawal by hundreds of Nuer Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) deserters who sought to flee from Bahr el Ghazal to Sudan during the South Sudanese Civil War.

[8] The security situation in the region began to deteriorate, however, when Kiir replaced SPLA Chief of the General Staff James Hoth Mai, an ethnic Nuer, with Paul Malong Awan, a Dinka, in April 2014.

This move caused unrest among Nuer soldiers of the SPLA, who believed that members of their ethnic group were sidelined in the military.

[4] Furthermore, ethnic tensions in the region heightened when it became known that Nuer rebels had committed a major massacre against Dinka civilians and soldiers in Bentiu.

Government representatives claimed that only three or four[2] were killed, and that the Nuer soldiers had actually planned an uprising or caused the escalation of violence by deserting.

[12] These displaced people, alongside refugees from other regions of South Sudan, often arrived in poor health and reduced local food availability, causing concerns about the spread of malnutrition in Wau County.

[13] News of what had happened at Mapel soon reached Wau town, capital of Western Bahr el Ghazal and site of another SPLA base.

Gen. James Ochan Puot,[1] Brig Gen. Kuang Cirang,[2] and one unidentified officer, who had joined the mutiny out of fear for their lives and to protest against the massacre at Mapel.

[2] The government consequently managed to convince elements of the Nuer forces to surrender:[9] Seven deserters from Wau, including Brig Gen. Kuang Cirang, rejoined the SPLA on 28 April,[2] while 255 soldiers from Mapel reportedly returned to their base by 11 July.

[4][7][20][21] Elements of the 3rd Division in Wunyik and Majok Yiiththiou, led by brigadier generals Peter Gatbel and Kuol Tap respectively, deserted in late April,[3][9][22] and joined the forces from Wau and Mapel.

It is unclear why the Nuer soldiers had travelled all the way to Sudan; the Small Arms Survey theorized that they either wanted to seek protection from the SPLA and ethnic persecution, or planned to join the SPLM-IO rebels of Dau Aturjong who had defected from the government in late May.

[26] Furthermore, the SPLM-IO which had previously been mostly powerless in the region received a major boost due to these events, and its activity consequently increased in Bahr el Ghazal.

[4] Growing ethnic tensions eventually led to the outbreak of major insurgencies in Bahr el Ghazal, such as Maj. Gen. Thomas Bazylio Tandro's campaign in 2015,[27] the 2016–18 Wau clashes[28] and the South Sudan Patriotic Army's rebellion since 2017.