Eight Red Cross Staff Kidnapped in Eastern Congo
The international aid group Red Cross announced on Tuesday, April 13, that an armed group kidnapped eight of their staff members in the eastern region of Congo.
According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the kidnap victims – one Swiss national and seven Congolese – were captured by the Mai Mai Yakutumba rebels near the town of Fizi in the province of South Kivu.
“The ICRC has been able to get in touch with some of our colleagues after the incident,” said spokesperson Marcal Izard, who refused to say if they have made contact with the kidnappers.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry stated that it has full knowledge of the situation and that it is working with the Red Cross, as well as with the Congolese authorities.
South Kivu is home to several Red Cross offices. This region, as with much of eastern Congo, is a place that has been ravaged by violence ever since the genocide incident in 1994 that happened in neighboring Rwanda.
The leader of ICRC’s mission in Congo, Franz Rauchenstein, said that their activities are carried out as a means of protection and assistance for the victims of armed conflict.
He further added that they will continue to impart their strictly neutral and humanitarian work, and hope that the kidnap victims will be able to return to their homes soon.
Many Red Cross staff members have become kidnap targets in other conflict areas in the past.