March 24, 2021(Nyamilepedia) — An SPLM-IO boat was attacked on Monday by an armed group while crossing River Sobat on the outskirts of Ulang County, Upper Nile State.
The attack left at least 7 opposition soldiers dead and 10 others injured.
The soldiers were travelling to Juba for the unification of forces when they were ambushed by an unidentified armed group.
In an interview with a local radio station, the opposition military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. William Gatjath Deng, confirmed the ambush saying that the soldiers were attacked at Aying Area by local youths.
“Those clashes erupted on March 22 at 3 pm. our forces left Yomding heading to Ulang County for Gutmakur for the unifying process. On reaching the Aying area, they were intercepted and attacked by armed local youth, killing seven of our officers on the spot and injuring 10 others,” William Gatjath Deng, the SPLA-IO military spokesperson said.
According to William Gatjath, the attack appeared to be motivated by revenge as the group targeted specific people.
The opposition efforts to get the attackers did not bear any fruits as the armed youths had already fled.
“Those attackers are not government troops. They appear to be a youth group trying to target some people on the convoy. We deployed our forces to that area and we learned that those youth have fled,” he added
The secretary-general of Upper Nile State, Nyok Reng Wol Kerjok, confirmed the incident but said the details remain scanty.
For his part, Major General Chol Atem Jongeth, the state police commissioner, said investigations are ongoing into the incident.
“Yesterday, the convoys reached the Canal area at 5 pm and they will proceed to Juba for unification. Hopefully, those attackers are a gang group in that area,” he said.
