Crime barricade tape. | Courtesy.

Police in Western Equatoria State have confirmed that an elderly woman was killed on Monday in an ambush near her house in Tambura County.

The state police commissioner, Maj. Gen. Philip Madut, said the incident occurred at midday when the 53-year-old woman left her house to the market.

Gen. Madut said the identified victim was shot dead by unidentified assailants in what is yet to be ruled as targeted or isolated incident.

The police official said there is no identified suspect in connection to the killing.

Madut said there have been rampant targeted killings in Tambura and the local environment has made it impossible to identify or arrest any suspect.

He reveals that police and other organize forces in area will double their efforts to make sure that the killer is traced and apprehended.

“The incident has happened yesterday, she was leaving here home to market to find something to eat then she got shot on the road and she died,” Gen. Madut narrated.

“The environment of this area is very bad, the grass too high, and if someone hid in the grass you cannot see. So the person who shoot here was in the grass when she was going according to the report we have.”

“She is an elderly woman of 53 years. All these incidents, there no suspects person. It just unknown gunmen. In all these incidents, no suspects were apprehended.”

On his part, Tambura Commissioner Mathew Mabenge alleged that the shooter is a criminal element from the SPLA-IO forces near the area. Eye Radio was not able to immediately validate the commissioner’s accusation.

On December 13, the Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Tambura-Yambio called for an end to the violence in Tambura and urged the government to intervene and protect civilians.

The appeal was made after gunmen opened fire at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp at St. Mary Catholic Parish in Tambura, resulting in one person dead, and a woman and her child wounded on 11th December.