Kidnapped South Sudan aid workers released

Eight South Sudanese aid workers who had been kidnapped have now been released, according to a statement from the charity they worked for, Samaritan’s Purse.

Officials say the eight were not Americans, but were South Sudan nationals.

There were some reports that the kidnappers were allied to rebel leader Riek Machar, and that they were demanding aid money in return for the release of the detainees.

But in a statement Samaritan’s Purse have said “there was no ransom request”, with the rebels also distancing themselves from the kidnapping.

Samaritan’s Purse adds that the eight staff members “are on their way to a safe location” with the help of the World Food Programme.

The aid workers lived in the Mayendit area, and were taken from a village near Mayiandit, about 420 miles northeast of South Sudan’s capital city of Juba.