Defected soldiers ambushed an army convoy in South Sudan on Sunday killing a brigadier general and destroying three vehicles.

Brigadier General Marach Akoon departed Juba at 1:00 p.m. yesterday heading to Yei to replace the defected Brigadier General Peter Tut.

His convoy was ambushed near Bungo Payam about 30 kilometres from Juba at around 3 p.m. He died instantaneously together with two bodyguards when an RPG round hit his vehicle.

In the clashes that followed the defectors captured and later burned another two vehicles in the convoy. The full number of casualties in the clashes is not known.