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Six relief workers kidnapped

    NAIROBI

    Six members of a Dutch-Burundian humanitarian organisation were kidnapped by an armed group on Friday morning in the southern province of Makamba and have yet to be found, humanitarian sources confirmed to IRIN on Monday. Workers belonging to the Memisa/Coped relief organisation were abducted as they were travelling north to treat people displaced by Burundi’s civil war in Muramvya Province. The Agence burundaise de presse (ABP) cited eyewitnesses as saying they were taken towards Nyamugari village in neighbouring Tanzania.

    Their vehicle was later found in Makamba province, about 2 km from the Burundi/Tanzania border. The humanitarian sources added that Memisa was seeking assistance from local churches to facilitate the release of their workers. Government officials believe rebels from the Forces pour la defense de la democratie (FDD) were responsible for the abductions. According to ABP, Memisa is receiving the support of Burundian administrative and security officials. The six employees consist of five health workers and their driver, and include four women.

    They had been in the Makamba area since last Tuesday, treating and distributing medicine to the local population.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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