Over 24 Abductees Reunited With Families

This article was last updated on May 25, 2022

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According to the head of delegation from SRCS who prefers anonymity, the organization works harder to make sure that the southerners who were forcefully taken as slaves or house-girls and boys were registered and reported to the local authorities for possible repatriation back to their original homes.

During this exchange of abductees, there were 15 southerners ranging from young women and kids and nine abducted Sudanese comprising of women and children.

During the reception and official hand over there, Chief Deng Nyuol claims that the South Sudan’s side has registered 105 abductees missing with Rezeigat militia groups while the other sides of Rezeigat says nine abductees who were believed to have died already have been officially received as exact number of missing from the other side.

“I never expect to have our abductees killed or hidden by you because we have been good neighbours all time long and its quiet funny when the other opponent keeps your Prisoners of Wars (POWs) while the other side kills its PoWs. Is that not a challenge to the other side whose POWs are killed? I urge you my fellow neighbours to coordinate and find out as soon as take along with you these abductees, you make sure our remaining 90 abductees who are still not known of whether they are killed or not is looked into and responded to us promptly,” Nyuol said.

Mohammed Issa who is the Relief and Rehabilitation Commission Coordinator in Western Bahr el Ghazal state who also took part in coordinating the peaceful repatriation or official reunion of abductees with their relatives and parents says that their government is committed to peace and that’s whythey have been keen enough to make each abductee is taken good care of medically and administratively.

“We are here today all the way from Western Bahr el Ghazal to Northern Bahr el Ghazal state to make sure that we bring these abductees to their tribesmen or tribes to conceal that we are for peace with our neighbours not war; this is also to show the international community that we South Sudan are not merciless when it comes to international human rights be it POWs or any other,” he said.

Issa states that the preparation for the trip and other technical assistance were made possible through the help of ICRC who provided for the transportation and feeding during the process.

These kinds of handing over any abductees from one end to the other comes into effect when the chiefs and community elders from Dinka Malual, Rezeigat and Misseryia came together to discuss peace and harmony.

As a response, the community elders have come up with initiative of reporting abductees from each to the other side of tribal authority.

At Gok-machar, the exchange of abductees was witnessed by United Nations Mission in South Sudan and other international humanitarian agencies.