Depending on the report, two or three of them were drivers. One aid-worker was a Swiss national.
The kidnappers are reported to be Mai Mai-militia, and the kidnapping took place in Eastern Kongo, in Sud-Kivu province.
A source inside the ICRC has commented that the reason for the kidnapping is not known, nor as of yet any ransom-demands. It´s important to remember that most things that come out into the media in situations such as these have to be heavily edited to enable a smooth hostage negotiation process, and to protect those kidnapped. To begin with, this happened six days ago, so a lot of activity and planning has already rolled into place. The problem is for smaller organizations that might not have policy, insurance and planning that covers kidnappings, and they are now operating in a world where kidnappings of aid-workers are becoming increasingly common.
You can read two press sources here:
We here at Small Change hope to post an interview or comments from Suzanne Williams, the hostage negotiation specialist that will hold a workshop at the NGO Security Conference. (See previous post.)
And we really wish the best for the eight kidnapped aid-workers. Let´s all wish that their situation ends in a smooth and swift release back to their families and to freedom.
Daniel
