In
what will come across as a really surprising development, several UN
aid workers have been forcefully taken away from their base.
File photo: A UN compound
It has been revealed that 21 United Nations humanitarian workers have been abducted by gunmen over the weekend in South Sudan.
Lam Tungwar, Information Minister for Northern Liech State, South Sudan, made the revelation on Tuesday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Tungwar said in Juba that
youth allied to opposition leader Riek Machar overran the town of
Nhialdiu on Sunday and abducted the aid workers who were residing in a
UN compound.
He said that the abductees included one Kenyan national while the rest were South Sudanese working for different aid agencies.
“It was a surprise attack on Sunday where they overran the town and looted property.
“Twenty one humanitarian workers residing in the UN OCHA compound were taken away.
“The government is trying its best to rescue them.”
He added that the gunmen also attacked the town of Koch, looting homes and burning over 40 huts.
The northern region of South Sudan has exchanged hands several
times between government troops led by President Salva Kiir and
opposition forces loyal to Machar during civil war that broke out in
December 2013.
More than 100,000 displaced people are living under the protection
of civilian site in Bentiu town of the northern region, according to the
latest figures by the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan.
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