At least two people were shot and killed when a vehicle they were travelling in fell in an ambush at Host Bridge along the Torit- Kapoeta road on Tuesday.
The two were identified as a Somali and a South Sudanese who were on their way from Kapoeta to Juba via Torit.
Galileo Ohide, the Paramount Chief of Hiyala Payam, told radio Tamazuj that the incident occurred at 7:30 pm when unidentified criminals ambushed a commercial vehicle.
“One from Somalia and one from South Sudan were shot. Two of them died, so we are still investigating the incident. The identity of the attackers is unknown,” Chief Ohide said.
Meanwhile, Torit County Commissioner Jacob Atari Albano confirmed the incident and said the bodies of the two men killed in the ambush have been taken to Torit mortuary.
“These criminals are trying to destabilize the road. Currently, the road from Kapoeta to Torit has become dangerous, especially when you come from New Kenya to Idolu,” he explained.
“We will put some measures to make sure that travellers can move freely without any problem. We are going to take serious measures. Anybody found moving with a gun should not be tolerated because it is too much,” he stressed.
Charles Okullu, a civil society activist in Eastern Equatoria State, condemned the attack and called on the state government to take insecurity along the road as a serious concern.
“It has not taken even a week, another incident happened along Hiyala road, but again we have received sad news in the area where people were ambushed and killed. I am still calling on the state authorities to tackle this issue of insecurity,” he said.