A long-distance bus traveling from South Sudan’s capital, Juba, to Kampala, Uganda, was attacked by gunmen on Tuesday morning, resulting in at least one death and several passengers feared kidnapped, according to South Sudan’s military.
The attack took place approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Juba. Eyewitness images show the bus engulfed in flames with thick black smoke rising into the sky.
Despite the 2018 peace agreement that sought to end years of civil war in South Sudan, insecurity persists in several regions. Army spokesperson, Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, confirmed that a Ugandan man was killed in the attack, while eight others sustained injuries. Seven passengers remain missing, and it is believed they may have been abducted.
Gen. Koang blamed the National Salvation Front (NAS), a rebel group led by former deputy chief of staff Gen. Thomas Cirilo Swaka, for the attack. The group, which operates in areas south of Juba and Central Equatoria state, refused to sign the 2018 peace deal. As of now, NAS has not commented on the incident.
Earlier, Gen. Koang told Radio Tamazuj that soldiers sent to the scene engaged the attackers in a firefight.
Violent attacks along this route are not uncommon. In August 2022, 11 passengers, including South Sudanese and Ugandans, were killed in a similar ambush. A year before that, two South Sudanese Catholic nuns were killed while traveling on the same road.
The highway linking Juba with the southern border town of Nimule remains dangerous, highlighting ongoing instability in South Sudan despite efforts to secure peace.
