South Sudan’s military says a rebel group is to blame for the deadly bus attack

In South Sudan on Tuesday night, someone attacked a passenger bus and killed at least one person, hurt seven others, and took 14 others hostage.

General Lul Ruai Koang, spokeswoman for the army, said that a Ugandan citizen died in the attack on the Juba-Nimule Highway while riding the bus from Juba to Kampala.

Attack by unknown shooters took place in the Jebelen area, a few kilometers from Juba, between 8 and 9 a.m.

The National Salvation Front (NAS) rebels were blamed by the South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) Intelligence Service, but the NAS refuted the claim.

The group NAS, which is run by Thomas Cirillo, a former army deputy boss, has admitted many times to attacking people on the highway, sometimes to get money or to make a political point.

They wouldn’t sign the peace deal from 2018 that set up the government of national unity, which is run by President Salva Kiir.

At a news conference on Wednesday, Gen. Koang said that the first people to arrive were security forces. However, the attackers ran away to Labonok Payam in Juba County, Central Equatoria State.

“We know for sure that the attack was planned by NAS rebels,” he said. “For the past seven days, our intelligence officers have seen strange movements in the area, and our joint security forces were getting ready to attack their hiding places without warning.” Unluckily, people were the main targets.

“The lies from the SSPDF spokesperson are strongly denied by NAS.” There is no truth to this statement, and it should be treated with the disrespect it gets. “The statement is an attempt to hide the fact that the regime has failed to protect not only the Juba-Nimule Road but also the safety of the people and the integrity of South Sudan’s territory,” said Samuel Suba, a spokesman for the NAS.

The government said that only one person had died, but the University of Bahr El Ghazal (UBG) was saddened by the death of Ustaz Joseph Thomas, a South Sudanese worker who was an assistant professor in the College of Agriculture. It said how sorry it was for his untimely death, praised his work, and sent sympathies to his family and the UBG community.

The US government gave money to build the Juba-Nimule Highway in 2012. It is South Sudan’s main road that connects the city to Uganda and the rest of the East African Community.

It is an important route for moving goods between Kenya and South Sudan. But since the war started in 2013, many border highways have been closed for safety reasons, leaving this one as the only way to get things done.

This route is known for being blocked off by militias and used for ambushes. There have been a number of recorded deaths over the years, including an attack in 2016 that killed seven people and another in 2021 that killed five. Attacks happen even though the government tries to provide armed guards. The most recent event shows how bad security is in the area.