View of Kaya payam in Morobo County. (Photo: Courtesy).

Three men were killed in Morobo County, Central Equatoria State, by suspects described as soldiers over the weekend, according to a relative of one of the victims.

This is according to Scopas Lokule Andrea, a relative of one of the slain men.

Andrea, who is an uncle to one of the deceased men, said the incident occurred on Sunday at about 3:00 pm in the Bussia area, Kaya town.

He said four men who were burning charcoal were attacked by men in SSPDF uniforms.

According to Andrea, the attackers arrested three of the men and killed them, while one managed to escape and reported the incident.

“There was an elderly man who was making charcoal, and the boys went there to work with him; they were attacked there. The boys were four; they arrested three, and the fourth one managed to escape. They slaughtered the three boys using knives,” he narrated.

He added that the slain victims were aged between 20 and 25.

He said that the same soldiers later informed the community about the killings and ordered them to collect the bodies of the three men from the scene.

“They then sent a message that your boys are dead here, come and take their bodies. Those in the camp came and found the boys dead. One of them is my nephew, the other one is an in-law of my brother, and I did not recognise the third body.”

“They left the country from Uganda to South Sudan, where they were killed. The incident happened at the border of South Sudan, not Uganda. They were killed by soldiers from South Sudan,” he added.

The SSPDF is yet to comment on the allegations.