Barricade tape for crime scene (Courtesy)

Police in Jonglei State are investigating an attack that killed seven people and the abduction of two others by unknown gunmen in Duk County on Thursday.

State Police Spokesperson Major General Elia Costa said four women and a girl are among the victims.

He said the incidents occurred on February 22, 2024, when some civilians collecting firewood were attacked by gunmen, who then disappeared.

“On the twenty-second day of this month, seven people were killed, including 4 women, a girl, and two men,” Costa said.

General Costa said the perpetrators abducted a woman and her child. In an interview with Eye Radio, he said the police are trailing the assailants.

“The attackers kidnapped another woman and her child and fled. The search is still ongoing for the woman and the perpetrators. The terrified citizens were collecting firewood when the gunmen attacked them.”

On February 16, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said it was troubled by increasing cases of abduction and human trafficking between Jonglei State and Pibor Administrative Area.

The Commission chairperson, Yasmin Sooka, told a press conference that the rights commission has documented an increase in cases of abduction and shocking tales of trafficking involving armed groups and members of the armed force.