DR Congo: Two Abducted Red Cross Workers Regain Freedom

Two humanitarian workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) who were abducted on Nov. 30, 2021 around the periphery of the Virunga national park, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, have been released.

Rachel Bernhard, leader of the International Red Cross Society in the Democratic Republic of Congo, announced the release of the two aide workers without giving further information on the conditions for their release.

“We are relieved by the return of our colleagues and we are happy that they will rejoin their families. It is the end of a nightmare,” Bernhard said. 

“We want to recall here that this abduction and all attacks against humanitarian personnel can put in peril activities aimed at coming to the aid of communities which are already seriously touched by the conflict.”

A spokesperson of the International Committee of the Red Cross had on Nov. 30 announced that two teams of a “water supply and housing” project on their way to Goma were stopped by armed men in Sake.

From the convoy of six persons, two ICRC engineers, one Congolese and one foreigner, were kidnapped.

Abductions targeting humanitarian workers are not rare in DR Congo where several armed groups operate with impunity.