The whereabouts of four Ugandans is still unknown, three weeks after their bus was ambushed enroute to Uganda from South Sudan. One person later succumbed to gunshot wounds while five others were injured following an attack on their bus by gunmen in South Sudan capital, Juba on September 3.
The Ugandan-bound Friendship Bus registration number UAM 126V was ambushed by suspected South Sudanese rebels at Konyi village 70km from Nimule border post.
Four people including the bus driver, his conductor and two passengers disappeared without trace to date. As a result, a team of South Sudan Liberation Army (SPLA) troops and Juba police started hunting for the missing persons in collaboration with the Ugandan embassy in Juba.
To date, the search has not yielded any results. Police spokesperson, Andrew Felix Kaweesi, says they are still hopeful on finding the missing Ugandans.
“We have not yet got any information in regards to Ugandans who are still missing – the driver of the bus that was attacked, the conductor and two other people. 4 people are still missing. We have not yet got any update but the SPLA forces together with our embassy in Juba. They are working hand in hand to follow up on this case”, he said.
A week after the attack on Friendship bus, other nine people were killed along Nimule road when unknown gunmen opened fire on a South Sudan bus and two other vehicles.
The mid-morning attack occurred in the Madi corridor area along Juba-Nimule highway, where dissident armed youth groups from the area believed to be allied to opposition leader and the former first vice president, Riek Machar have a strong presence.
South Sudan police and national security services have since blamed the two ambushes on the Madi tribal forces, under the command of Martin Kenyi. Kenyi is allied to Machar.
Fighting broke out in South Sudan, the World’s youngest nation, in July when President Salva Kiir accused Riek Machar of attempting a coup.
The fighting in Juba set off a cycle of retaliatory massacres across the country. The situation calmed down when the two leaders announced ceasefire.
©Theobsever
