The border region of Abyei has been contested since South Sudan gained independence in 2011. (Courtesy).

A 63-year-old pharmacist was killed in a highway ambush by gunmen between Rumamer and Aneet in Abyei Administrative Area on Wednesday, authorities of the border region said.

Abyei Information Minister Bolis Koch said the medical specialist identified as Jiik Jok was heading to his work station in Aneet from Wunpith village when he came under gunfire at around 4:00PM.

Koch said the victim was travelling with two women who both escaped unharmed.

According to the government official, the incident occurred adjacent to a military garrison.

He said authorities have launched an investigation and are actively tracking down the perpetrators involved in the ambush.

“The incident took place on October 9, at 4:00 pm in Rumamer County in Abyei Administration when the 63-year-old pharmacist named Jiir Jok was returning from Wun-pith village with two women and was ambushed and shot dead,” he said.

“The ambush took place in an area called Ayuok, an area where vehicles are often ambushed. When the authorities pursued the perpetrators, they discovered that they had come from Ayuok, an area where army forces were present.”

The highway murder of the pharmacist follows months of relative calm among communities along the Abyei-Warrap border after a previous cycle of deadly subnational violence that claimed hundreds of lives and displaced thousands since 2022.