‘Timebomb’ Highway Is Economic Lifeline in World’s Newest Nation

  • Series of ambushes disrupting supplies to South Sudan capital
  • Thoroughfare key to a country that imports almost everything
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When trucker James Okumu slams his pedal to the floor for the three-hour drive between South Sudan’s capital and the Ugandan border, he feels like he’s sitting on a timebomb.

“You don’t know when it will explode,” said the 37-year-old Ugandan, who regularly plies the 195-kilometer (121-mile) route to transport vegetables and rice to Juba from his home country.