South Sudan: Suspected militants killed two truck drivers near Nesitu along Juba-Nimule road, Central Equatoria State, July 15

Event

Suspected militants killed two Ugandan truck drivers and injured one other in Nesitu along the Juba-Nimule road, Central Equatoria State, July 15. Preliminary police reports indicate that the assailants dressed in South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) military uniform waylaid the drivers at a roadblock and opened fire. The drivers were en route to Juba and were transporting goods.

Context

Since April 2020, several attacks, leaving as many as 15 people dead, have been reported along the Yei-Juba and Juba-Nimule routes. The Sudanese government has blamed the attacks on National Salvation Front (NAS) rebels. NAS is an anti-government armed group based in the south of the country. NAS has denied involvement in the incidents and suggested that elements of the SSPDF are behind the violence. In response, transport associations in Kenya and Uganda previously requested in early April that their members suspend travel into South Sudan.