NGO abductees “doing fine”

Two staff members from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) who were abducted earlier this month and left by the roadside in a serious condition are now “doing fine”, ADRA’s country director, Prince Cummings, said on Tuesday. Aaron Kargbo and Aruna Sherrif were returning to Port Loko on a motorcycle from Freetown when they were ambushed, abducted, and held overnight. UN peacekeepers found the two men the following day at the side of the road. Kargbo had sustained bullet wounds to his leg and other injuries and Sherrif had body injuries, ADRA reported. “It is not certain why the two men were targeted but, according to Aaron and Aruna, the attackers claimed they wanted food and other benefits,” Cummings said. Port Loko, some 55 km north of Freetown, is a centre for the rehabilitation of former fighters. ADRA, in partnership with two other local NGOs, has been asked by the rehabilitation and resettlement wing of the government to be responsible for 1,500 families of ex-combatants.