Five members of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) have been killed by the Uganda People Defense Forces (UPDF) in a surprise attack in Kajo-Keji County.
Among those killed in border clashes between South Sudan and Uganda are two SSPDF officers, two prison officers, and a police officer.
The Authorities in Kajo-Keji of Central Equatoria state On Monday the revealed that some members of UPDF launched an attacked on small Security Unit in Bori Boma with intention of grabbing South Sudan land.
Wani Jackson Mule, Kajo-Keji County commissioner who is also the head of security committee in the county expressed that the UPDF were armed however they were repulsed despite loses at the side of the SSPDF
He narrated that after incident South Sudan lost five security men.
Addressing media after the incident, the commissioner revealed that the bodies of those killed have been brought to Kajo-Keji health hospital.
“The UPDF came in large numbers and well armed, they started firing our small unit in our land but our forces chased them away, unfortunately our five-security personal were killed” Jackson said.
“We brought their bodies to the Kajo-Keji hospital. I call on the residents to remain calm as the situation is normal” he added.
In his address to the mourners at the Hospital, the commissioner called for those who lost their loved ones to be strong, adding that they died defending their country.
He assured the public that efforts at the local, state and national levels are underway to resolve the matter diplomatically.
In a statement released to the media, Brig. Gen. Henry Buri, Kajo-Keji County Army Area Commander, confirmed that national security institutions were notified immediately after the attack, and calm has since been restored.
Buri reported that the UPDF forces were heavily armed with tanks and artillery, targeting a detachment of 19 joint operation forces stationed to protect the civilians who are always attacked by holdout groups.
On Tuesday just one day after the attacked on SSPDF in Kajo-Keji, Army Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang said that the situation was controlled with the two sisterly countries in close contact.
He revealed that the South Sudan and Uganda armies have agreed to form a committee to investigate the incident.
Ruai said that the SSPDF Chief of Defense Forces, Gen. Dau Aturjong Nyuol, had contacted his Ugandan counterpart, and as a result the duo agreed on immediate cessation of all forms of hostilities.
The statement also noted the formation of a joint investigation committee to ascertain the circumstances under which the armed confrontations erupted.
A similar attack in June 2020 claimed three lives from the SSPDF and a police officer in the same area, bringing the total fatalities from these cross-border confrontations to nine.
