Rebels free kidnapped workers in South Sudan

South Sudanese rebels have released 13 contractors a week after kidnapping them and seizing the fuel barge they were taking to a U.N. base in South Sudan, the United Nations said. The U.N. mission in the world’s youngest country said it sent helicopters to pick up the South Sudanese workers on Sunday, and recovered the […]

South Sudanese rebels have released 13 contractors a week after kidnapping them and seizing the fuel barge they were taking to a U.N. base in South Sudan, the United Nations said.
The U.N. mission in the world’s youngest country said it sent helicopters to pick up the South Sudanese workers on Sunday, and recovered the barge – but not the 55,000 litres of fuel it was carrying.
“This (release) was the result of a week-long dialogue… with members of the opposition at all levels,” Shantal Persaud, a spokeswoman for the U.N. mission, said on Monday.
Eighteen Bangladeshi U.N. peacekeepers, who were also captured by the rebel SPLA-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) in oil-producing Upper Nile State last week, were freed on Thursday.