9 killed in ambush along South Sudan highway

By Denis Ejulu

At least six civilians including two soldiers were killed late Tuesday in an attack by armed assailants along the Juba-Bor road.

The attack on Murle cattle traders which occurred at Mogiri village at around 7 p.m has been blamed on a criminal group from Jonglei State by authorities from Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA), where the victims of the attack hail from.

Gola Boyoi Gola, chief administrator of GPAA said on Wednesday that the attack left eight people injured and over 3000 heads of cattle looted.

“This reprehensible act of violence reflects a grave disregard for human life and complicates the peace that our communities in Greater Pibor Administrative Area and Jonglei State strive to build, through encouraging the youth to engage in trading activities instead of cattle raiding. We want to categorically warn that the continuation of such incident will impede the peace process,” Gola said in a statement issued in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

In November, 2024, a similar attack in Mogiri, Central Equatoria State, left nine Murle cattle traders killed and 14 seriously injured.

Gola noted that the criminal group behind the attack known as “Red Belt” is well organized, and continues to threaten not only the security of GPAA traders but the country as whole.

He urged the national government and law enforcement agencies to monitor this group closely and take decisive action and recover the stolen cattle.

“We must work collaboratively against these criminal acts and ensure the safety and security of all cattle traders and civilians,” Gola said.

Communities from Jonglei State and Greater Pibor Administrative Area have over the past years been engaged in tit-for-tat violence characterized in the form of cattle raiding, child abduction and revenge killings.

Intermittent fighting between communities from the two areas has continued despite previous attempts to reconcile them through peace dialogue initiatives.