Local Red Cross official says 8 workers kidnapped by militia in east Congo have been released

Militia releases 8 Red Cross workers in east Congo

KINSHASA, Congo — A militia in eastern Congo that seized eight Red Cross workers one week ago released them Friday, a local Red Cross official said.

The seven Congolese and one Swiss national taken by the Mai Mai rebels are in good health and they are being flown by U.N. helicopter to Bukavu, the provincial capital, said Desire Yuma, whose national Red Cross staff were among the captives.

The Red Cross has several offices in South Kivu, which like much of eastern Congo has been wracked by violence since the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda spilled war across the border. The ICRC said the group’s mission was to protect and assist victims of violence.

The shadowy Mai Mai militia is one of many armed groups in the area. Their fighters have been seen using rudimentary weapons like spears and are believed to value mysticism.

A Congo Army spokesman in South Kivu province, Capt. Olivier Hamuli, said the Mai Mai had seized the Red Cross staff to thwart a planned Congolese army attack on their hideouts. Hamuli said the Mai Mai have refused to join the 2009 government disarmament and integration program because they believe they are protecting their tribe.

Three foreign Red Cross workers were kidnapped in the Philippines last year, and French staff members were seized in Chad and Sudan. All have since been released.