Abducted Red Cross workers evacuated, SPLA says

Three Red Cross workers, including two Swiss nationals and a local Red Crescent colleague, who were abducted on 18 February by SPLA rebels in the Kong area south east of Pariang were evacuated today (Friday) to an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) camp in southern Sudan, an SPLA spokesman told IRIN. “The three were handed over to ICRC field officers in the area. SPLA has made the work easier for both ICRC and the government by moving them to an ICRC camp,” SPLA/SPLM spokesman Samson Kwaje said. A regional ICRC spokesperson told IRIN she was not in a position to confirm the evacuation. ICRC had been negotiating for the release of the three workers and on Wednesday made the first telephone contact with them. “They said they were in good health and had no specific needs at the moment,” ICRC spokesman Juan Martinez told IRIN.