Four children who were abducted by Lou Nuer criminals were on Friday reunited with their families in Pibor town in the Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) after spending weeks in captivity.
The four children included two girls aged 7 and 9 and they were handed over to the local authorities in Pibor by the UN children’s agency, UNICEF.
GPAA Information Minister Oleyo Akwer Nyalus told Radio Tamazuj Sunday that the children were in good health and appreciated the local authorities in Pochalla for recovering and handing them over.
“On 9 April, Lou Nuer youth attacked Likuangole and they abducted nine children. Later this group crossed to the Ethiopian side of the border and they were fought off there,” he explained. “Five children were recovered and they were rescued by Pochalla authorities from Ethiopia. Four of these children were handed over to UNICEF and we learned that one remained in Ethiopia under treatment.”
On his part, Othow Okoti, the Pochalla South County commissioner, confirmed the handover and said the abducted children were rescued after they negotiated with Ethiopian authorities.
“We rescued these four children from Ethiopia and we handed them over to Pibor through UNICEF on Friday,” he said. “They were supposed to be five but we learned that one child is being treated for a gunshot wound in Gambella.”