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Four Killed in Attack on South Sudan Highway

Four Killed in Attack on South Sudan Highway

Waakhe Simon Wudu
VOA News
July 20, 2015 - 12:23 PM

The attack happened just outside Juba on the road to Kajo-Keji, which sits on the border with Uganda.

JUBA—Four people, including two foreigners, were killed when gunmen opened fire on a vehicle traveling on the road linking Juba to Kajo-Keji county, officials said Monday. Four others were wounded in the attack, which happened around 16 miles outside Juba on Saturday.

Among the dead were a Ugandan and Sudanese. The other victims were from South Sudan.

“The truck that fell into the ambush by about six armed men was carrying 14 passengers," Agrey Tisa, the chairman of the Kajo-Keji community, told reporters on Sunday at Juba Teaching Hospital.

"One lady is badly injured. There is still a bullet lodged in her chest. She is fighting for her life," Tisa said. The other wounded are reported to be in stable condition.

Near SPLA barracks

Police spokesman James Monday Enocka said security has been stepped up along the road since the attack, which happened not far from a military barracks.

Members of the police force, army and national security service have, in the past, been implicated in criminal activities, but it is still unclear who was responsible for Saturday's attack.

Tisa said that unless security along the road is markedly improved, Kajo-Keji could lose its lifeline to the capital, which is its main market for goods and services.

Attacks on roads linking Juba to provincial towns and counties are not uncommon. Early this month, at least four people were killed and their property taken when the vehicle they were traveling in, on the Juba to Yei road, was attacked.

Tisa said Saturday’s attack appeared to have "nothing to do with robbery of property or money; it was meant to kill.”

The investigation into the attack is still ongoing.