Army, opposition soldiers killed in deadly car accident outside Juba

JUBA – At least 18 members South Sudan’s army and opposition soldiers have been killed in a deadly accident outside the country’s capital Juba with at least 10 others being treated for critical injuries, an army medical officer has said.

Malual Wek, a medical doctor at the Qiada Military Hospital in Juba where the wounded are being treated, said the incident occurred on Friday along the Juba-Bor highway when the soldiers who had come to Juba for independence celebrations were returning to a training centre in Mangala.

“The incident occurred about 30 miles from Juba on Friday afternoon. The soldiers had come from a training centre in Mangala to Juba and where on the way returning back to the training center when the accident occurred,” the medical officer told Sudans Post in Juba on Saturday evening.

“We don’t know what caused the accident, but when it occurred, 16 of them died instantly and two (2) others died after they were brought to Juba here in the hospital and the others who are being treated for injuries are ten and they are in very critical conditions,” the officer added.