Commercial truck engulfed in flames following ambush by unknown gunmen along Mundri road. | Courtesy photo.

The Commissioner of Mundri East County in Western Equatoria State has appealed to armed men attacking travelers along highways to stop the “inhumane and discouraging” practice.

Margaret Fozia urged the bandits that he said are taking the lives of innocent people along Mundri road to end the act and join the peace-building process.

“I think, the people practicing these ambushes are listening to me. I urge them to stop it,” she said in an interview with Eye Radio.

“These innocent people you are killing on the roads have families that they are responsible for, and it is not good to just claim their lives in cold blood.”

Cases of deadly ambushes have been reported along the Western Equatoria roads, with travelers either killed or kidnapped in the area that has had a heavy presence of different armed actors during the civil war.

Earlier this month, a truck driver was killed and three vehicles were burnt along Mundri East road.

In May 2022, seven passengers survived when their vehicle descended into an ambush carried out by unknown gunmen in Maridi County.

“Whoever doing this should bear in mind that it is unlawful and you need to stop it. Instead, let them join us in implementing the peace agreement if they are sons of Mundri East or South Sudan,” said the commissioner.