The authorities in Jonglei State’s Duk County are pursuing five armed youths accused of attacking and looting a commercial motorboat along the Nile River on Monday.
Duk County Commissioner John Chatim said the suspects, who have been identified by name, allegedly established an illegal checkpoint along the river before attacking the boat and killing a soldier.
“We have identified five suspects who were involved in the attack, and security forces are now pursuing them,” he said. “They erected an illegal checkpoint and attacked the boat. One security officer was killed, and we are working to bring those responsible to justice.”
The commissioner said authorities will not allow armed groups to continue disrupting commercial transport along the Nile.
Relatedly, reports circulating online said armed youths from the Hol Section also ambushed a South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) unit in the Bioth-Agany area along the Nile corridor. Local sources reported that at least one soldier was killed and several others wounded in that attack.
The sources said the soldiers were escorting boats carrying commercial goods toward Upper Nile State when they came under attack. The attackers reportedly seized weapons from the soldiers before fleeing the area.
However, authorities have not yet officially confirmed the reported loss of weapons or the full number of casualties in the Bioth-Agany incident.
The attacks have raised renewed security concerns along the Nile transport route, where repeated incidents have disrupted the movement of people and commercial goods.
Bioth-Agany has remained a flashpoint because of recurring communal tensions and insecurity, with local leaders and communities repeatedly calling for stronger security deployments and dialogue to prevent further violence.
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