14 killed in S. Sudan road ambush

South Sudan's police said on Thursday that at least 14 people have been reported killed and unknown numbers injured following an ambush on a convey travelling from the border town of Nimule to the capital, Juba.

Police spokesman Daniel Justine, said the attack happened in the remote area of Moli, about 40 kilometers from the South Sudan border with Uganda, Xinhua reported.

Justine said the attackers first hit a military vehicle before attacking other commercial vehicles that followed.

He said among the dead were security officers and civilians who are yet to be identified, adding that investigations are ongoing to establish the motive of the attack and the identity of the attackers.

"At around 11 a.m., gunmen attacked convoy of buses coming from Kampala to Juba. They targeted the first car of the military and then blew it up. Fourteen people are reported dead but we are still gathering more information about the ambush," Justine said.

The Juba-Nimule road remains the only open and major route linking the war-torn country to its Southern neighbor Uganda.

The road has witnessed increased gun violence since renewed fighting erupted between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his former deputy former Riek Machar in July 2016.

Military escorts provided by the government late last year have failed to quell the ambushes.

Between March and April, at least 50 civilians and scores injured during gun attacks on commercial vehicles along another road linking the capital, Juba to the eastern parts of the East African nation.

--IANS

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