South Sudan rebels kidnap eight local aid workers

The South Sudan government added that the rebels were demanding a ransom of U.S.$1 million, which they were refusing to pay.

The economy of South Sudan is one of the world's weakest and most underdeveloped, with little existing infrastructure and the highest maternal mortality and female illiteracy rates in the world as of 2011.

It was not immediately clear why the aid workers were being held.

Rebels from South Sudan have denied kidnapping eight local workers working with worldwide charity Samaritan Purse^[1] from a village located about 680km northeast of the capital, Juba. "We've been feeding people in the area^[2] for two years and why would they need to make a ransom demand when we were already giving food away?"

The eight were not Americans, but were instead South Sudanese nationals, officials said^[3]. "No ransom request has been made and we are hopeful that they will be released soon and safely", it said.

Safety among aid workers has become an increasingly serious issue amid global charity employees being targeted in the wars in Syria and Yemen.

Last month, the United Nations declared^[4] localized starvation in parts of South Sudan, warning that some 100,000 people, almost half of the population is in dire need of food aid.

Aljazeera reported^[5] Monday that Samaritan's Purse had been in contact with the kidnapped workers, and that they had not been harmed.

Rebels in South Sudan denied reports^[6] that their troops had abducted the eight aid workers.

It is not appropriate to pull the personnel out in the middle of the work, Abe said.

South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013, following political dispute between president Salva Kiir and former vice president Machar resulting in killing of tens of thousands and displacement of more than two million.

The rebel group also said that its forces "disintegrated, defeated, and killed" at least 33 government soldiers in the fighting and took control of the area.

The fighting has forced 3 million people to flee their homes, split much of the country along ethnic lines and paralysed agriculture, prompting the U.N.to declare last month that parts of the country are suffering from starvation.

References

1. ^{^} Samaritan Purse (www.samaritanspurse.org)
2. ^{^} area (unmiss.unmissions.org)
3. ^{^} said (www.christianitytoday.com)
4. ^{^} declared (reliefweb.int)
5. ^{^} Aljazeera reported (www.aljazeera.com)
6. ^{^} reports (reliefweb.int)