South Sudan: Six Ugandan Truck Drivers Missing After Armed Men Seize Vehicles in South Sudan

What the report says

Six Ugandan truck drivers are reported missing after armed men seized their vehicles in Bor Town, Jonglei State, South Sudan, according to The Independent in Kampala, republished by AllAfrica. The incident was said to have taken place between Tuesday and Wednesday morning at Mina Fish Port and the Lew-dier docking site, two river landing points along the White Nile that serve the local fish trade.

Isaac Katabazi, chair of the Alliance for Heavy Trucks Federation, said six trucks were taken, including vehicles being used to move fish and identified by registration numbers UAF 901U, SSD 517E and UA 861. He said two other Ugandan drivers, identified as Rasta and Ashraf, were injured after resisting the seizure. The report also said several other drivers were hiding after the incident.

Katabazi said the attackers were suspected by stranded drivers to be members of the South Sudan People's Defence Forces, though the paper noted that the army spokesperson could not be reached for comment. He said he had alerted Uganda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and called for diplomatic intervention to secure the drivers’ release and recover the trucks. The report said the episode has raised fresh concern about insecurity affecting cross-border transport between Uganda and South Sudan, especially along the trade routes used by truckers and fish exporters.

The article also placed the case in the context of earlier protests by Ugandan truck drivers over harassment, extortion and attacks in South Sudan, including complaints at the Elegu border area.