 Other individuals from Fertit communities in the greater Deim Zubeir area joined as well and engaged in attacking army convoys.Also, a leading member in exile of Father Saturnino Lohure's secessionist Sudan African Closed District National Union (SACDNU) - Alexis Mbale - originated from a village close to Deim Zubeir and had been educated at the Comboni mission school there.These affiliations may have been amongst the reasons why government forces in Deim Zubeir suspected collaboration between residents and the insurgents