A motorcyclist riding from Yei town towards Morobo was on Tuesday shot dead and an SSPDF soldier was shot and injured by unidentified gunmen along the Yei-Kaya road.
The two separate incidents occurred in Yari village of Mugwo Payam in Yei River County and Poki village in Morobo County respectively.
Major General Yoasa Lujang Kamba, the police chief in Yei River County confirmed the incidents saying efforts were underway to apprehend the attackers.
“The boda-boda was reported to have left from Yei town and on reaching a place called Yari in Mugwo, he was attacked and shot dead and his motorcycle set on fire. In another incident, one of our SSPDF soldiers was shot and injured in Poki by unknown armed men and this is the report we got from the security apparatus in Kaya,” Gen. Lujang said.
He said movement along the Yei-Juba road has momentarily ceased because of the ambushes and attacks that left scores dead over the weekend and on Monday.
“First of all we need to assess the road to find out whether vehicles can move alone or it requires security escort and we are yet to determine this along the Yei-Juba road before allowing civilians to resume using the road and for now I can say the road is not accessible since yesterday,” Gen. Lujang said.
Yei residents have called on the government to improve security on all the major roads leading in and out of the town and other towns in Central Equatoria State.
Augustine Wani, a Yei resident, urged the government to uphold its constitutional mandate to protect the lives of the civilians and their properties.
“The government is responsible for his people because the safety of the civilians is in the hands of the government and the government needs to ensure that the security of the civilians is protected and secondly the government needs to engage in peace talks with the non-signatories to the peace process,” Wani said.