Authorities in Upper Nile’s Fashoda County said they have received four abductees freed from their captors in Jonglei State’s Fangak County.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Thursday, Joseph Aban, the Fashoda County commissioner, said the former abductees aged 10 to 18, include two females and that they had already been reunited with their families.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), the Red Cross handed over three children to us in Fashoda. One child was left behind in Malakal town with its family who lives at the PoC Site,” he said.
The local official added that the rescued are just a tiny fraction of several children whom he said are still missing since the violence late last year when an armed group from Jonglei State’s Greater Fangak area invaded part of their land.
For his part, Boutrus Biel, Fangak County Commissioner, said the recovery and return of the abductees is a gesture of their commitment to peace.
“As being part of the government, we decided that all the children be released. So we traced and talked to the people who brought the abductees and we learned that seven people have been brought to Fangak County. We managed to trace four through traditional chiefs,” he said.
“The four are Nyakhamisa Joseph Mayik, 18, Nyabiel Adwok Ojang, 14, John Adwok Joseph Chan, 10, and his younger brother Kwajwok. This is very important because no one should be held under captivity under our law,” he added.
John Samuel Manyuon, the state information minister, while confirming the handover, said there is uneasy calm in parts of Jonglei State bordering Upper Nile State and that the state leadership plans to engage Upper Nile State counterparts and the national government to de-escalate the looming tensions there.