Kidnappings of aid workers surge in South Sudan

Nairobi: The number of aid workers kidnapped in South Sudan has more than doubled this year, according to two senior humanitarian officials working for international groups.

Aid agencies are concerned about the well-being of their staff and the disruption of their life-saving services in a region suffering one of the most severe humanitarian crises.

Several of those kidnapped have been released after ransom payments, said three people with knowledge of the negotiations, but one aid worker died in

captivity earlier this month, according to several sources familiar with the incident, including Edmund Yakani, a prominent civil rights activist in the country.

The United Nations has long designated South Sudan as one of the most dangerous places for aid workers. However, analysts say that the spike in kidnapping for ransom is a new and worrying trend.

“The biggest fear is that this could become a countrywide issue,” said Daniel Akech, a South Sudan expert with the International Crisis Group.

Over 30 South Sudanese aid workers have been kidnapped this year, according to the two humanitarian officials.

That is more than double the number of aid workers abducted in all of 2024, according to both officials.

Aid officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss security matters and feared reprisals against their staff, jeopardising

their organisations’ access in the country.

Fighting in South Sudan between the national army and opposition factions has surged this year, marking some of the worst violence since a 2018 peace deal ended a civil war that

killed an estimated 400,000 people and formed a fragile unity government.

Some analysts say the clashes are linked to a struggle over President Salva Kiir’s successor, as speculation about his declining health spikes.

“Some abductions for political reasons, like forced recruitment (of civilians into military conscription),

have been done for years, but the abductions for ransom are new,” said Ferenc Marko, an expert on South Sudan.