UNHCR officials said the convoy was transporting refugees from Abyei, a disputed region between Sudan and South Sudan, to a camp in Wedweil, in the northwestern South Sudanese state of Bar al Gazal, when it was attacked and two of its members were kidnapped.

The bodies of the abductees were later found near the site of the incident. The rest of the caravan was able to arrive safely at their destination.

UNHCR country representative Marie-Helene Verney stated that this endangers the strategy to relocate refugees arriving in South Sudan through Abyei to a safe place in Wedweil, where a new settlement is open to receive those displaced by the conflict.

Since the beginning of the war in Sudan, humanitarian organizations have moved more than 105,000 people by river and about 59,000 by plane. More than 438,000 people have arrived in South Sudan since April to escape the fighting.

jrr/jav/jha/fvt