https://allafrica.com/stories/202104130380.html
South Sudanese traders have faced increased difficulty as protests have occurred over highway attacks from Keyan and Ugandan truck drivers. The catalyst was a Ugandan lobby for truck drivers that claimed that eight of their members had been murdered in highway robbery incidents. Additionally, a Keyan association claimed similar circumstances with three dead and missing trucks found torched in South Sudan. These attacks occurred on Juba-Nimule highway, a highway that connects Nimule in the south to Uganda then up to Juba, the capital. The highway was built following the civil war between Sudan and South Sudan. The Sudanese rely on the highway for products from Kenya and Uganda, including food as well as oil. Traders are in troubling times as they are running out of stock without any sign of it coming, this comes as an addition to the struggles faced by the virus. I think that this is a really disheartening story. It is sad to see violence from criminals have such an effect on the general public with the traders being forced to raise prices as a result of the lack of stock. Without another main road to connect the major cities to the other nations, the Sudanese have effectively been cut off. Kenyan and Uganda governments and organizations have discouraged the use of the Juba-Nimule as well as expressed their dismay from the attacks. I think that these events could very easily increase tensions between South Sudan and its neighbors. As they are quite isolated from Sudan in the north, they could be stuck in a bad situation if they continue to anger their bordering nations. The dependence on trade from their neighboring countries makes this situation all the worse as if they are cut off it would be detrimental to their economy and general health and happiness of the citizens.m