By Enyichukwu Enemanna
At least four members of the South Sudanese security forces have been killed in fighting with the Ugandan army near the countries’ shared border, local officials say, as tensions flare over disputed border demarcations.
Three South Sudanese soldiers were shot dead on Monday by Ugandan forces who retaliated after one of their soldiers was killed, Major General Felix Kulayigye, spokesperson for the Ugandan military, said on Wednesday.
Wani Jackson Mule, a local official in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State, however, said he received the bodies of five soldiers.
It could be recalled that Uganda has long been involved in the security of South Sudan, providing military support to President Salva Kiir, including a deployment of special forces since March.
A spokesman for South Sudan’s military, Major General Lul Ruai Koang, said on Wednesday that military leaders from South Sudan and Uganda have agreed to an immediate ceasefire to enable an investigation of the latest border clash.
A statement from local authorities quoted local South Sudan army commander Henry Buri as saying the Ugandan forces “were heavily armed with tanks and artilleries” and targeted 19 “joint operation” forces.
An earlier statement by local county officials said there had been “loss of lives and injuries from both sides”.
It was not clear what triggered the fighting on Monday that South Sudan says occurred in Central Equatoria.
The clashes reportedly sparked in a remote part of northwestern Uganda known as West Nile when South Sudanese soldiers crossed into Ugandan territory, set up camp and refused to leave, according to the spokesperson. “We had to apply force.”
But there are opposing narratives. Mule described the firefight as a “surprise attack” by Ugandan forces in territory South Sudan considers to lie within its land. Sections of the Uganda-South Sudan border have been contested for years.
Leaders from the two countries have set up a joint border demarcation committee whose work is ongoing, Kulayigye said. Officials from both countries have previously said they expect to reach a firm decision in 2027.
