Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The Director-General at the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism has said four wildlife officers have remained unaccounted for following an ambush on their vehicle over the weekend.
According to Gen. Khamis Adiang Diing, the four officers were part of a team of eight rangers transporting construction bricks to the headquarters of the Lantoto National Park, located in Yei River County on Sunday, July 20, 2025, when their convoy came under attack.
He said the officers were attacked by gunmen wearing military uniform and armed with machine guns and rocket propel granades.
“It was on the 20th of July, 2025, when our rangers were busy in Lantoto National Park in Yei River County. They were transporting bricks for building their offices in the park. They were ambushed on the way coming to the headquarters by an armed group in full uniform, heavily armed with machine guns and RPGs,” he explained.
Gen. Khamis said four of the rangers were taken hostage, but later managed to escape following a rescue operation launched from the headquarters.
Gen. Diing said four of our rangers were taken hostage but later managed to escape following a rescue operation launched from the headquarters. The other four others have remaining missing since the ambush.
“They managed to arrest four of our rangers, keep them with them, till we send rescue from the headquarters to investigate or to see the situation. And then they managed to exchange fires. Then our rangers managed to escape. And they report back to the headquarters. They are there now, safely,” he added.
General Adiang said the attackers also burned the vehicle used by the rangers to ashes.
He believed the missing rangers have been communication and efforts to locate them are ongoing.
“We are now tracing the other four rangers. Luckily, we might get them up to tomorrow. If there is something new, we will let you know,” he said.
The wildlife official blamed a “well-organized, well-trained, and likely to be a well-structured rebellion in the area” for the attack.
No armed group has claimed the attack.
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