The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it has rescued 40 people in South Sudan, mostly children who spent months separated from their families and returned them home.
The charity said 29 children, nine women and two men were recovered in Gul, Ayod County in Upper Nile State, north of the country, and were flown on ICRC planes to Malakal.
“The 40 children and adults had been taken between November and December 2022 during armed hostilities in Fashoda County, Upper Nile State,” the ICRC said in a statement in the South Sudanese capital of Juba on Thursday evening.
It said local authorities had asked the ICRC to act as a neutral intermediary, in accordance with its humanitarian mandate, and facilitate the transfer; subsequently, on Wednesday, the organization assessed the health of the released and confirmed that they were fit to travel.
Pierre Dorbes, head of the ICRC delegation in Juba, said the charity’s team accompanied the released people during their journey and was prepared to tend to any medical needs along the way, adding that the organization did not participate in negotiation for the release of the abductees.
“It is a great joy for us to be able to help these children, women and men return to their families. It is very fulfilling to contribute to reuniting families that have been separated due to conflict and violence,” Dorbes said.
The ICRC said more than 4,000 cases of missing persons displaced by conflict and violence were being followed up in South Sudan in 2021.
According to the ICRC, the families of missing persons often experience mental and emotional trauma hence the need to offer them psychosocial support.
