Ugandan and South Sudanese troops clash at border, killing at least 4

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Troops from Uganda and South Sudan clashed along the border between their countries in a firefight that left at least four dead, a Ugandan military official said Wednesday, as tensions flared over disputed border demarcations.

Three South Sudanese soldiers were shot dead by Ugandan forces who retaliated after one of their soldiers was killed on Monday, said Maj. Gen. Felix Kulayigye, spokesperson for the Ugandan military. But Wani Jackson Mule, a local official in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria state, said he received the bodies of five soldiers.

The firefight occurred in a remote part of northwestern Uganda, known as West Nile, when South Sudanese soldiers crossed further into Ugandan territory, set up camp and refused to leave, according to Kulayigye.

“We had to apply force,” he said.

Mule described the firefight as a “surprise attack” by Ugandan forces in territory they consider to lie within South Sudan.

A spokesman for South Sudan’s military, Maj. Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, said military leaders from South Sudan and Uganda have agreed to an immediate ceasefire to enable an investigation of the latest border clash.

Sections of the Uganda-South Sudan border have been contested for years.

Leaders from the two countries have set up a joint border demarcation committee whose work is ongoing, Kulayigye said. Officials from both countries have previously said that they expect to reach a firm decision in 2027.

Although there have been sporadic border clashes over the years, the exchange of fire between the military allies is rare.

Ugandan forces have been deployed to South Sudan to help support President Salva Kiir against forces loyal to Vice President Riek Machar. Ugandan special forces are deployed in Juba, the capital, and elsewhere in South Sudan.

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Machol reported from Juba, South Sudan.

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