Officials from Boma and Jubek states have confirmed the death of four local traders while three others are missing between Mangala and Pibor in an ambush on Saturday.

Seven local traders that belonged to Boma State left Juba on Saturday heading to Pibor and after leaving Mangala Junction within Jubek State they fell into road ambush by unknown gunmen.

Simon Gain, Pibor County Commissioner of Boma State confirmed to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that four traders from his state were killed while three others are missing in Mangala County on Saturday afternoon.

The traders were involved in buying and selling of cattle between Pibor and Juba capital as a means of earning income. The business was interrupted last year after many traders were killed en route between Juba and Pibor but it resumed recently after a peace dialogue started between Dinka Bor and Murle.

The commissioner denied a claim by another source that the killings happened near Pibor itself. “If these people could have arrived to Pibor County then who can kill these people since they belonged to same Murle tribe? No Murle can kill Murle without reasons, for those who claimed that the traders were killed in Pibor county, he is lying.”

He insisted that the dead victims were found at the Mangala junction.

Elario Paul, Mangala County Commissioner of Jubek State Confirmed the incident, “Yes the incident happened at the area of Kerkidi, 5 minutes by car near SPLA army barrack, where four people from Murle tribe were killed and nothing was taken from them, they were just killed and left.”

Asked whether he knows who launched the attacked, Elario said, “Nobody knows who were they attackers, it was better when one of them who was wounded to tell the story, they were found dead but the County Investigation Committee is working to move to the area where the incident happened and see what should be done.”

He asked the traders not to be traveling in few numbers but to be traveling in huge numbers.

Elaria also said before the incident an SPLA soldier from John Garang Military Memorial College was recently shot on the road to Mangala on 12 October by an unknown person and later died after he was taken to the hospital.

The commissioner further revealed that his County Mangala has a lot of insecurity incidents happening nowadays.

File photo: A cattle herder in South Sudan