Two army officers were shot and killed on the outskirts of Yambio town in South Sudan’s Gbudue State after they allegedly attempted to rob a civilian last week, a local official said.

Gibson Wande, Gbudue’s minister of information, told Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday that a Brigadier General and a Lieutenant were killed by local residents who suspected them of planning to rob one of the houses in an area located 15 kilometers outside Yambio town on Thursday.

He identified the two deceased as Brigadier John Manasseh and Lieutenant James Andea.

The state minister explained that the two army officers were former members of the opposition who defected to the state government.

According to Wande, two people have been detained pending investigations into the incident.