[3] Such conflict erupted in the early to mid 2000s, coinciding with an increase in petroleum extraction in the region, and led to a number of incidents resulting in the large-scale deaths of civilians.

[4][5][6] The Ethiopian government has denied that its military was involved in attacks on Anuaks, and instead attributed violence in the region to local ethnic militias.

The Anuaks have many neighbor ethnic groups including the Ajiebo Murle, Nuer, Dhuok Suri, the Oromo, and Amhara (the highlanders).

[13] These ethnic problems began in the 1980s – when the previous Derg government used forced resettlement to bring about 50,000 people from Ethiopia's exhausted central highlands suffering drought to the fertile, but swampy, malaria-infested Gambella region where the Anuaks and Nuers live.

Also in 2002, a hand grenade thrown onto a passenger Isuzu truck, full of Nuers traveling to Lare in Jikawo woreda, killing two instantly and wounding 18.

The attacker who was also wounded in the process was later held by the army and allegedly confessed that he was part of a bigger group organized to eliminate the Nuers.

[19] Same day a group of Anuak coming as far as the Abobo woreda attacked the Nuer settlement at Ochom for the second time, wounding four people, but killing 35 sheep, six cows and unspecified number of goats.

Later in 2002, five Nuer men who went to cut bamboo for roofing on the road to the Anfillo woreda in the Oromia Region were ambushed, killing two and wounding one; the survivors identified their attackers as Anuaks.

But currently, their way of life is dramatically changed to sedentary villages, they grow coffee, fruits, spices, maize, durra, root crops and they are also engaged in beekeeping.

This brought changes to the Majang way of life, including the introduction of new agricultural practices, the establishment of towns and infrastructure, and the gradual erosion of their traditional social structures.

During the 20th century, the Majang faced various challenges, including land alienation, deforestation, and conflict with people fled hunger and unemployment from the North who are moving deep into their territories.

In recent decades, there have been efforts by the Majang people and their advocates to preserve their unique identity, land rights, and traditional practices.

Overall, the Majang people have a longstanding history and cultural identity rooted in the Gambella region, despite the various social, economic, and political changes they have experienced over the 20th and 21st centuries.