The Spokesperson of South Sudan People’s Defense Forces
(SSPD) said on Wednesday that seven of the 14 people that were abducted during
the bus attack along Juba-Nimule Highway have been rescued.
On Tuesday, the Bebeto bus left Juba for Kampala when it
fell into an ambush between Jebelen and Kubi along the Juba-Nimule road.
At least one person was killed, and eight, including one
National Security Service personnel, were injured, while many went missing.
Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, stated that the security agencies are
still on the ground to recover the remaining missing persons.
“That out of the 14 that were abducted, 6 were freed by NAS.
The 7th one, that was a wounded Ugandan national, was rescued by SSPDF. Efforts
are still underway for them to be recovered,” Ruai told reporters on Wednesday.
“The primary responsibility of recovering those who are
still in captivity lies with NAS leadership. In the first place, they should
not have been targeted because they are not a legitimate military target.”
The unnamed survivors include one South Sudanese, two Sudanese, three
Ugandans, and a Rwandan.
Ruai accused NAS of brutality, targeting vehicles, looting,
and destruction along the road - a claim which the National Salvation Front
(NAS) refuted.
Ms. Oba Margret, one of the survivors, stated that their
belongings were looted by the attackers.
“They took all the things. If you have money, just all the
bags, you surrender to them. So, after that, some remained on the roadside.
Others, they took us to the bush,” Margret explained. “If you walk slowly, they
will shoot you.”
She added that they found their way out of the bush with the
help of security agencies.
“One of them started directing us that we are going to
direct you out of this bush. Up to ten at night is when we came out of the
bush. They were just using torches until we came out,” she stated.
She added, “If we were to be the ones, we could die there.
No food, no water, but because of the help of the security, we were able to
come out.”