Kidnapped aid workers released in S. Sudan

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Franklin Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse says the eight aid workers who were kidnapped this week have been released and are safe.

The eight were not Americans, but were instead South Sudanese nationals, officials said.

“Samaritan’s Purse is thankful to God for the safe release of our South Sudanese national staff, who had been detained by armed personnel in the Mayendit area of South Sudan. They were all released Tuesday afternoon local time,” said a statement released Tuesday by Samaritan’s Purse.

“There was no ransom request, and they are on the way to a safe location at this time. We are grateful for the World Food Programme’s support in helping us relocate our staff.”

Rebels in South Sudan denied reports that their troops had abducted the eight aid workers. The news agency Reuters reported Monday that the kidnappers had demanded food as ransom.

However, South Sudanese rebels told media outlets in Africa that the kidnapping story was government “propaganda” and untrue. The eight aid workers lived in the Mayendit area, and were taken from a village near Mayendit, about 420 miles northeast of South Sudan’s capital city of Juba.

The circumstances of the kidnapping remain unclear. Samaritan’s Purse says it has been distributing food to the people in the Mayendit area of South Sudan for more than two years.