Two Ugandan nationals were killed by unknown gunmen in South Sudan’s Yei River State, local officials said Monday.
Those killed were reportedly ambushed and taken hostage together with South Sudanese at Payawa village in Mugwo County last Saturday.
Mugwo County Commissioner Emmanuel Taban told Radio Tamazuj that the bodies were discovered in the village by local residents.
“Two Ugandans who went missing in the area have been found dead on Monday. I have informed the state authorities about it and plans are underway to transport their bodies to Yei for postmortem and police verification before another step is taken,” Taban said.
On his part, the state governor, Emmanuel Adil Anthony condemned the incident in the strongest terms possible, saying investigations into circumstances behind the incident are underway.
“As a government, we condemn the brutal killing and activities by criminals and anti-peace elements along Yei-Kaya road, Yei-Lasu road and Yei-Juba road, which mainly target innocent civilians,” he said.
However, Adil said all the roads and markets in the state are open. He called on the population in the state to remain calm as the government beefs up security.
“Whether these criminals are rebels or gangs, we as a government, together with our security apparatus have put in place security to pursue these perpetrators,” he stressed.