South Sudanese Aid Workers

Abducted aid workers released in South Sudan
Ten aid workers kidnapped in South Sudan by opposition forces last week have been returned to the capital, Juba.


The aid workers were kidnapped while travelling in convoy near the southern city of Yei on April 25 [File: AP]


Ten aid workers abducted in South Sudan last week have been released.

The workers - kidnapped while travelling in a convoy near the southern city of Yei on April 25 - were transported from the area by an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) aircraft to the capital, Juba, on Monday, the group said in a statement.

The three UN staff and seven aid workers from several different organisations are all South Sudanese nationals.

Fighters from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) were responsible for seizing the convoy, alleging the workers had entered an area "without any clearance".
Civil war

Aid workers have frequently been targeted by armed forces operating in South Sudan since an ethnically charged civil war erupted in December 2013, when troops loyal to President Salva Kiir and then-vice president Riek Machar clashed.

The conflict has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people - including at least 98 aid workers - and led to more than four million people being displaced from their homes, according to the UN.

Francois Stamm, head of the ICRC in South Sudan, called on Monday for all those involved in the conflict to refrain from attacking aid workers.

"While we are relieved these 10 humanitarians have been released, we want to remind all parties to the conflict that aid workers are never a target," Stamm said.

The UN said it was "outraged" by the deteriorating security situation facing humanitarians.

"I am deeply concerned by the insecurity faced by aid workers in South Sudan, who are risking their lives to save others," said Alain Noudehou, the UN's humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan.
'Misunderstandings'

Opposition forces loyal to Machar said the UN is sending humanitarians into rebel-controlled areas without clearance.

"This is undermining the leadership of the [opposition] and it has to stop immediately as it has resulted into misunderstandings and endangering of lives of the workers and our displaced population," opposition spokesman Lam Paul Gabriel said in a statement.

The opposition's leadership found out about the detained aid workers two days ago and immediately ordered their release, Gabriel told The Associated Press.

But the UN says it never enters an area to deliver aid until negotiations with all parties are completed.

Aid workers operating in South Sudan were held by armed groups twice in April, and three times during the last six months, according to the UN.

Source: Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/abducted-aid-workers-released-south-sudan-180430130115291.html)

Author: Unknown

RESPONSE:

Bias: There is definitely a bias against the SPLM for what they are currently doing in South Sudan and also a bias against the two leaders, Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, who have caused all the clashes and deaths that have been happening in South Sudan. 

Audience: I think that this is mainly directed toward the surrounding countries of South Sudan- mostly people who are following the situation in South Sudan. I think it also applies to the families of aid workers and even just NGO workers in South Sudan.

Opinion: I think that it is really shallow that the SPLM and other rebel groups have gone so low as to kidnap people who are trying to help their communities and even possibly their families. Looking in from the outside at the situation, it seems that the problem could be easily fixed or at least there is a big hope that the problem could be fixed easily; however, there seems to be even more that happens in the country that is not reported in the news that affects all of the conflict too. It is also really scary to think that these people are just focused to get either money or recognition from the other side that they don't care who gets hurt in the process.