(YEI RIVER COUNTY) – Three South Sudanese humanitarian workers have reportedly been abducted at gunpoint by unidentified armed men in Yei River County.
The aid workers, employed by an international development organization based in Yei, were reportedly abducted on Monday afternoon in Jansuk village, about four miles north-West of Yei town, along the the Yei-Maridi road while returning from a field mission in Minyori Boma.
Susan, a close family member of one of the abducted workers, told Access Radio on Tuesday that their whereabouts and safety remain unknown. She said the abductors had demanded an unspecified amount of money for their release.
“As they were back from their activity in Minyori and according to local eyewitnesses, they were abducted four miles and their property, and the car were left on the road. My brother called and we could hear his voice, he sounded under torture and he said the abductors demanded some money before they could be released”
Susan appealed to local authorities and those holding the three aid workers to release them unconditionally.
“Humanitarian workers are people risking their lives and leaving their families going to the villages to serve people and they are not supposed to be targeted because they are not enemies to the opposition or the government and I am calling on who ever is listening, please put this suffering to an end particularly in Yei because Yei has suffered from this continuous humanitarian abductions”
Access Radio contacted the police and the Yei River County Relief and Rehabilitation coordinator for comment, but repeated telephone calls went unanswered at the time of publication.
The reported incident has renewed concerns over the safety and humanitarian access of aid workers operating in remote parts of Yei River County.
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