SSPDF officer, bodyguard injured in Abyei-Twic road ambush

ABYEI – An officer of the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and his bodyguard sustained injuries on Wednesday in an ambush along the Abyei-Twic road, where they were part of a task force deployed to maintain security.

The incident occurred between Rum-kor and Majak-kol, according to Major General Joseph Kwai Ajak, the commander of the SSPDF Abyei-Twic Joint Operation Forces, who was speaking to Sudans Post yesterday.

General Joseph said that the officer, who he identified as Mariak Kuot Kuot, was traveling on foot with his bodyguard while in civilian attire when they were attacked by assailants described as “serial killers.”

Both sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and neck.

“What happened was that our officer called Mariak Kuot Kuot with his guard came under attack on the road going to Rum-kor when the serial attacker or killer shot at them and they sustained injuries on the chest and neck, and they instantly snatched the guns and fled,” Kwai said.

The ambush unfolded around 7:30 a.m., and the attackers fled the scene with an AK-47 rifle belonging to the officer and his guard.

Kwai noted that forces were dispatched to pursue the assailants but were unable to locate them.

“We sent the forces but could not locate them, but our officers are being treated in Abyei and another taken to Twic County in Turalei hospital at St. Theresa hospital,” he said.

He added that both the officer and his bodyguard are responding well to treatment, with health workers closely monitoring their recovery.

Ajak condemned the attack, describing it as a “heinous and terrorist act” aimed at undermining the task force’s efforts to maintain peace and security in the region.

He called on civilians to report any individuals carrying arms who are not part of the military.

“We urge the public to report people whom they see are not military officers but are holding arms in the residences or communes where civilians stay,” he said.

He also appealed to residents near military barracks to provide tips about suspicious individuals loitering in villages with weapons.

The joint forces stationed along the Abyei-Twic road, Ajak explained, are tasked with deterring elements that instigate conflicts between the Twic and Abyei communities, which have been plagued by tensions in recent years.