Two Red Cross workers kidnapped in DR Congo

Nov 30, 2021

The engineers, one a Congolese national and the other a foreigner, were among six ICRC workers in the convoy, he said, adding that the other four were safe.

Two workers for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were on Tuesday kidnapped. (Courtesy photo)

AFP .
@New Vision

Two workers for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were kidnapped Tuesday on the edge of the Democratic Republic of Congo's Virunga National Park, the organisation said.

The pair, who had been working on a "water and habitat" project, were snatched between the main town of Goma and Sake, some 27 kilometres (17 miles) away, ICRC spokesman Paulin Bashengezi Mushamuka told AFP.

The engineers, one a Congolese national and the other a foreigner, were among six ICRC workers in the convoy, he said, adding that the other four were safe.

"It's a road we take all the time. There's never been an incident on this road," he said.

The Virunga Park is the oldest nature reserve in Africa and a sanctuary for rare species including mountain gorillas.

Kidnappings targeting humanitarian workers are frequent in the east of the vast central African country, where dozens of armed groups operate.

Goma is the capital of North Kivu province, which along with neighbouring Ituri has been under a "state of siege" since May in a bid to step up a military offensive against the rebels, with soldiers replacing civil servants in key positions.

Attacks on civilians have nevertheless continued unabated.

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