At least one person, a Ugandan man, was killed and eight others wounded in South Sudan Tuesday when gunmen ambushed a Bebeto Coach SSD 089Z Bus bound for Uganda on the Juba-Nimule Road.
The incident occurred this morning, Tuesday, September 24, 2024, at Lakarakak, between Nyerjebe and Kubi.
Speaking to reporters in Juba, Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, the Spokesperson of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF), blamed the attack on National Salvation Front (NAS) rebels led by Gen. Thomas Cirillo.
“This morning, there was a major incident on the Juba-Nimule road involving a deliberate ambush on a bus, Bebeto Bus Services. It was ambushed, and as a result, based on the information we received from security forces on the ground is that one person was killed, and a total of eight people were injured, including seven civilians and one personnel from the Internal Security Bureau of the National Security Service,” Lul said.
“National Salvation Front was entirely responsible for that attack on the bus, and what bugles our mind is that if NAS has an agenda of targeting government installations, why are their fighters attacking a soft target, which is a bus transporting different people from different nationalities,” Lul added.
Maj. Gen. Lul said 7-14 passengers are believed to have been abducted in the ambush.
“We have conflicting reports on the number of people that have gone missing. From our source is that seven passengers are missing, and we have a secondary source which is indicating that up to 14 are missing and the bus was set ablaze,” he explained.
When asked by Radio Tamazuj for a comment, Koang Peter, the manager of Bebeto Bus, said they had 44 passengers on board, including two conductors and the driver.
NAS officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Juba-Nimule highway is the only lifeline that connects South Sudan to the neighboring Uganda and Kenya for the supply of goods to South Sudan’s capital.
The armed attack on the road is the first of its kind reported this year.