By Jacob Onuha Nelson
South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) have traded accusations over the recent ambushes along the Juba-Terekeka Road in Central Equatoria State.
According to a statement from the SSPDF spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, the first ambush occurred between Koda and Nyori, targeting a truck traveling from Bahr el Ghazal to Juba.
“The fatal ambush resulted in one Somali national getting killed and [the] truck set ablaze.”
Gen. Lul further claimed that a second ambush took place at 11:30 am at the same location.
This time, a 30-tonne truck (Reg No SSD 545 AJ) transporting commercial goods with six crew members, en route to Gok-Machar in Awiel North County, Northern Bhar El Ghazal state, was hijacked, he said.
He truck was “driven towards [an] SPLA-IO base at BaiBai,” but stalled before reaching its destination, forcing the alleged hijackers to offload the cargo in the bush.
However, in a statement, the spokesperson for SPLA-IO, Col. Lam Paul Gabriel, refuted the accusations on social media, describing them as “a fabrication to cover up the SSPDF’s usual criminal activities along these routes.”
“The SSPDF have been robbing civilians not only along Juba-Bahr El Ghazal road but also Juba-Nimule road and always blame either NAS or SPLA-IO Forces,” Col. Gabriel claimed.
These accusations emerge amidst heightened political tensions, including the recent house arrest of several SPLM/A-IO leaders and First Vice-President Dr. Riek Machar.