Uganda, South Sudan meet over deadly road ambushes

Juba Nimule road (FlicKr)

KAMPALA, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Uganda has asked South Sudan to compensate families of drivers who were recently killed by unknown militia in different road ambushes in the country.

The two sides held a security meeting on Thursday at the common border point of Elegu.

Geoffrey Oceng, Resident District Commissioner of Amuru, who chaired the meeting, told Xinhua by telephone that Uganda handed over the petition by cross-border truck drivers to the South Sudan team.

The drivers, according to Oceng, also demanded that the property including merchandise and vehicles be compensated.

The South Sudan delegation was led by Akol Ayii Madut, Director General of Customs Services.

Truck drivers had refused to resume work until they got positive response from Juba, according to Oceng.

At least nine Ugandan drivers were killed in deadly road ambushes in South Sudan late last month.

"We also asked the South Sudanese delegation to restrain their soldiers from asking for taxes from east African drivers after mounting illegal roadblocks along the Uganda-Juba route," Oceng said.

Madut promised to report back to the Ugandan security team in two days on whatever the South Sudanese government will have resolved.

The attacks come barely two weeks after a group of armed South Sudanese herdsmen killed eight Ugandan fishermen at Odujo landing site in Kajo-Keji County, along River Nile shared by the two neighboring countries. Enditem