A Toyota Noah Registration No. UAF 442B that was traveling from Uganda to Juba in Southern Sudan was attacked by armed thugs in an ambush on Wednesday this week resulting into the death of six people, the UPDF has confirmed.
The attack happened between Keripi and Moli about 55km from Nimule town in Uganda.
Lt. Ahmed Hassan Kato the UPDF Spokesperson in West Nile region confirmed that thugs pelted the vehicle with bullets that killed the driver and five other pessangers.
Two of the dead were thought to be Ugandans while the four were thought to be South Sudanese nationals.
One of the deceased Ugandans was a woman identified as an Aringa from Yumbe but there was no clue about the identity of the man by the time of filing this story.
Lt. Kato said they were still trying to identify the dead by the time of filing the story as the assailants had fled off with the personal possessions of the deceased.
He confirmed to our reporter that the bodies were still being kept at Nimule Hospital Mortuary as efforts to identify the dead were still underway.
The militia groups behind the attacks is not yet known, according to Lt. Kato.
The incident is a rude reminder of the prevailing insecurity in South Sudan especially for passengers on the road to Juba, as Lt. Kato emphasized.
“Our message to Ugandans especially the traders on that route is that the Route to South Sudan is not yet safe.”
He advised Ugandan traders to desist from using the Uganda South Sudan route unless they are informed that the route is secure.
On Friday last week, two militia groups suspected to be SPLA Opposition and SPLA Government forces clashed near Jale, two kilometers from Moyo district causing fear among residents. No fatalities were recorded.
