The South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF) has denied allegations that its soldiers abducted Ugandan truck drivers and seized their vehicles in Bor town, Jonglei State, this week.SSPDF spokesperson Maj Gen Lul Ruai Koang said the alleged abductions and seizure of trucks were carried out by armed civilians, rather than soldiers of the national army.“The allegations or the acts were not committed by South Sudanese soldiers or the SSPDF. They were allegedly committed by armed civilians. Because they are armed civilians from the state, it is the state’s responsibility to give you clarification on what happened,” Koang said.Asked why foreign truck drivers and their vehicles were allegedly seized in the presence of state security personnel, Koang declined to comment, saying security matters in Jonglei were primarily the responsibility of state authorities.“If Ugandan drivers are being attacked, threatened by armed youth and intimidated at local ports where dry fish is being sold, it is the jurisdiction of the state apparatus to protect them and give clarification on why the security of Ugandans is being compromised,” he said.The denial comes amid reports that armed men suspected to be South Sudan government soldiers abducted Ugandan drivers and seized trucks between Tuesday and Wednesday at Mina and Leudier fish ports in Bor town.Some of the seized trucks were reportedly loaded with salted fish destined for Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Isaac Katabazi, board chairperson of the Alliance for Heavy Trucks Federation, said on Wednesday that the armed men, suspected to be government soldiers, used some of the seized trucks to transport armed youth involved in attacks against militias.Katabazi said six Ugandan drivers had been abducted and forced to drive their trucks to unknown destinations, while two others sustained serious injuries after allegedly being beaten for refusing to surrender their vehicles.Speaking to URN on Thursday, Katabazi said the security situation in Bor remained tense, with many truck drivers, including Ugandans, forced to remain in hiding. His account was corroborated by a Ugandan truck driver in Bor who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.The driver said he had been assaulted by armed men he believed were government soldiers. He also reported seeing a SINO truck among several other vehicles seized by the armed men before they were refuelled at a petrol station and driven away.He said he was also forced at gunpoint to drive a truck but managed to escape.“I personally escaped when they grabbed me and forced me to drive Mzee Lwanga’s vehicle, but I told them I didn’t have the keys. They asked me to use my key, which wasn’t possible. They tried to force me at gunpoint because they failed to understand my explanation… The problem is that these people are too many,” he said.The driver advised Ugandan truckers against travelling to Bor until the security situation improves.South Sudanese media outlet Eye Radio, quoting an anonymous source in Bor, reported that hundreds of youths from Northern Jonglei returned through Bor after a failed cattle raid in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area on Wednesday.According to the report, the influx of youth reportedly put pressure on state authorities to commandeer foreign-owned commercial trucks to transport them back to their respective villages.However, Koang rejected claims that South Sudanese soldiers were involved in the incident.Geoffrey Osborn Oceng, the Amuru Resident District Commissioner (RDC), urged Ugandan traders to prioritise their safety while conducting business in South Sudan.Oceng said security personnel in Uganda were coordinating with their counterparts in South Sudan over the alleged abduction of Ugandan nationals and seizure of the trucks.The post South Sudanese army denies abducting Ugandan drivers appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.