A chief was killed in a road attack carried out by an armed group in Duk County of Jonglei State on Saturday, local officials said. 

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Elijah Manyok Deng, the acting county commissioner, said the chief identified as Wuor Deng was walking from Duk Padiet town to the Pagak area with four other men when he met his death Saturday evening. 

“Chief Wuor Deng of Duk Padiet and other four men were moving to the Pagak area on foot. As they arrived at a roundabout of the road which leads to the Pagak area, a group of armed criminals ambushed them, opening fire on them. The chief was killed on the spot, but the rest escaped to Pagak town unhurt,” Manyok explained. 

He accused armed bandits suspected to have come from the neighboring Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) of carrying out the attack. 

Joseph Mayen Akoon, the state police commissioner, said no suspect was arrested in connection to the attack because the incident occurred on the outskirts of the town. 

“Yes, one of our chiefs was killed in Duk on Saturday. We have a police presence there. But we were unable to get any suspect because the incident took place in the bushes." he said.

For his part, Anter Bayak, a youth leader in Duk, condemned the attack but stressed that it will not derail an ongoing government effort to restore peace in Jonglei.

“There has been no major attack carried out since the peace committee was formed. Those are only criminals who attack people on the roads. As Duk youth, we are committed to bringing peace, and we think peace will prevail soon.”

Last week, Peter Ajak, the GPAA coordinator in Juba, said the Murle community is equally committed to bringing peace through the ongoing government initiatives and urged the Jonglei authorities to stop blaming their neighbors for the attacks without evidence.