Barricade tape for crime scene (Courtesy)

Two civilians and an opposition soldier are missing after they were reportedly abducted by armed personnel in Lobonok Payam of Juba County on Thursday, eye witnesses have said.

A source who was familiar with the incident told Eye Radio on Friday that three men were taken away by armed personnel in the Ligu area, west of Lobonok on June 8.

The witness whom we have named Paul (not his real name), said prior to the abduction, the same armed men, whom he could not identify, had raided Kilimo village and killed one person.

“There were armed men who came for checking. I do not know if there are governments or what those are. They went to Kilimo and when they reached there, they killed one person,” he told Eye Radio.

He could not identify the names of those abducted and the one killed but said one of the missing persons is an SPLM-IO soldier.

“They moved to another place called Ligu and arrested three people. They came ahead of Ligu and met 4 people they stopped these people but two of them ran to the river and two ran to the bush,” he narrates further.

“Those who ran to the river took three days and then came out meaning we have three people missing, one is a solider from IO from Lobonok and two are civilians from the side of Kajo-Keji.”

Meanwhile, a relative of some of the missing persons, who spoke on condition of anonymity identified missing persons as Sula Stephen Roba, Daniel Duku Dickson, and another man named only as Loro. He said they are aged between 29 and 30 years.

The second witness told Eye Radio the three men were fishing at Kaya Bridge along Juba-Kajo-Keji road when the armed men surrounded them at gunpoint.

The same armed men later shot dead 35-Year-old Evans Pena Rabuk in the Kilimo area.

He also said three other men dived into a river and escaped from the men in uniform.

When contacted, the Central Equatoria Minister of Local Governance and Law Enforcement, Moro Isaac Genesio declined to give further explanation about the incident.

He termed it as security information but could not confirm whether the government was responsible for what has been termed an abduction.

But the state official confirmed an investigation is ongoing, adding that he was yet to consult with Juba County Authorities on how far the probe have gone.

“This is security information that will have to be worked out before any other information is publicly released, so I will not be in a position to release or comment on it until such time when we are able to comment on,” he said.

“Definitely there must be an investigation going on I will consult with the commissioner of Juba to find out how far they already reached with the ongoing investigation.”