13 UN workers held hostage in Congo

By Godfrey Olukya

ARU, Dem. Rep. of Congo (AA) - A group of South Sudanese former rebels at a transit camp are holding hostage 13 UN mission workers and demanding transfer to another country, authorities said Tuesday.

About 90 former rebels are holding the hostages at the Munigi camp in eastern Congo, according to police intelligence officer Sergent Micheal Kasongo, who is just north of the camp in Goma,

“They claim that they are tired of staying in the camp and want to be relocated,’’ he told Anadolu Agency..

Former rebel, Jeremiah Kale, who lives in a separate camp, told Anadolu Agency he confirmed the hostage situation.

''Yes I have just rung my colleague and he has told me that some South Sudanese are holding the UN workers,” Kale said via telephone.

A UN official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak about the developments said the hostage takers are among 530 former rebels who were relocated to the Munigi camp last August after they crossed into the Congo.

The South Sudanese rebels and leader, Riek Macher, fled to the Congo with hundreds of civilians after being overpowered by government troops.

The UN’s refugee agency relocated civilians to refugee camps while the government and the UN mission in Congo transferred fighters to camps near Goma.

More than 2 million South Sudanese have fled to neighboring countries after fighting intensified between rebels and government troops.

Residents of Goma and surrounding areas have demanded the former rebels be removed because they fear fighting could spread to those locations.