Originally published in Christian Daily
Six Christian workers abducted in South Sudan on September 26 were released on Thursday (October 1), sources said.
The Young Life South Sudan workers were traveling from Kajo Keji to Maridi, a town in Western Equatoria state, on Juba-Yambio Road when unidentified gunmen ambushed their vehicle, the ministry’s country director, Pastor David Nyoma John, told Morning Star News.
“On September 26, at about 9.45pm, our Young Life leaders from Maridi were ambushed along the Juba-Yambio Road while returning from theological education in Kajo Keji,” Pastor John said. “They were taken by unknown armed group and held for about five days in the far bush under harsh conditions.”
Their vehicle was burned during the ambush, he said.
The abducted workers reported that they were beaten, forced to carry heavy loads for long distances and were not given adequate food and water. They were made to sleep in the open without shelter or bedding.
The assailants confiscated their personal belongings, including mobile phones, Bibles and theological training certificates, Pastor John said, adding that the workers were traumatised and required psychosocial and medical care.
The workers, all native South Sudanese, were identified as Thomas Oliver, Japheth Elisama, John Simon, Justin Wilson, James Banyi, and Ezibon Yoanna.
It was not immediately clear why they were released, but it appeared they were abducted as a form of punishment for their ministry.
Catholic Bishop of Tombura-Yambio Diocese Eduardo Hiinoro Kussala condemned the kidnapping and other attacks on civilians and called the armed groups to stop targeting civilians.
“Those people whom you are ambushing are your brothers are your citizens,” he told a Juba radio station, Eye Radio. “They are your brothers and sisters.”
South Sudan’s population is 63.7% Christian, 26.9% adherents of ethnic religion and 8.8% Muslim, according to the Joshua Project.
The world’s youngest country after gaining independence from Sudan in July 2011, South Sudan saw civil war erupt in 2013. Fighting continues despite a 2018 peace agreement, according to the United Nations, and renewed violence, political tensions, corruption and impunity leave many people at risk.
Christians have been targeted in the country. On February 25, the body of a church pastor near Juba was found after he had been abducted on February 19.
The body of Pastor Lino Pasquale of Hai Baraka Pentecostal Church was found after he was abducted while fishing at a river in Gondokoro, 10 kilometers from Juba. He was “targeted and killed by unknown gunmen,” according to leaders of the Sudan Pentecostal Church (SPC).
The killing was not an isolated incident. On January 14, the Rev Christopher Maring, a senior leader within the Africa Inland Church (AIC), was assassinated, according to AIC Deputy Presiding Bishop Martin Mogga. Pastor Maring was shot and killed at approximately 7.30pm at his home in the Gudele suburb by unidentified gunmen, they said.
Church leaders in the region are increasingly calling for better protection and investigations into targeted killings, as the motives behind the attacks remain officially “unidentified” by local authorities.
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