South Sudanese rebels say they have released three oil workers who were abducted and held for three weeks amid the country’s deadly civil war.
The three engineers, two Indians and a Pakistani, were released on Thursday, with the rebels saying they had notified their respective embassies.
AP reports India’s ambassador to South Sudan to say that the release of the two Indians was a big relief.
“It’s a big relief that it’s over,” ambassador Srikumar Menon said.
The three men were subcontractors for Dar Petroleum, a consortium of oil exploration and production companies based in South Sudan’s capital, Juba. It was not clear why they were kidnapped in the Upper Nile region.
The two Indian nationals have been taken to the capital of neighboring Sudan, from where they will wait to travel back home.
South Sudan has been dogged by violence since December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his then-deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup against his government. Machar denied the allegations but then went on to mobilize a rebel force to fight the government.
A peace deal that was signed in 2015 has continually been violated by both factions, prompting the United Nations to warn of a possible genocide late last year.
South Sudan in currently experiencing a deadly drought, with famine declared in other parts.
The situation is attributed to the violence that has always destroyed crops, denying the South Sudanese people an avenue for obtaining their food.
Recently, six aid workers were killed in the country, leading to condemnation from the international players and organizations, all of which have urged the country to end the war.
