Kampala - Hundreds of Ugandan traders in southern Sudan are being held hostage by soldiers picketing over long delays in the payment of their wages, the Ugandan press said Saturday.

At least 1000 Ugandan vehicles are stranded along the roads from the border points to southern Sudan's capital Juba after being barred from moving by Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers, the government newspaper, The New Vision reported.

The daily reported that the soldiers were demanding seven months in salary arrears.

Central Broadcasting Service (CBS) reported that as many as 700 Ugandans were being held hostage by the SPLA and that some of the vehicles had been set ablaze by the soldiers.

Thousands of Ugandan and other regional nationals rushed to southern Sudan for business ventures following peace with the Muslim north.

The mostly Christian and animist southern Sudanese fought for decades against successive Muslim governments in Khartoum. (dpa)