US aid group says 9 abducted staffers freed in South Sudan

JUBA, South Sudan – The U.S.-based aid group World Vision says nine staffers who were abducted earlier this week in civil war-torn South Sudan have been released.

A statement on Friday says eight local staffers and one Ugandan were seized on Monday while driving in a convoy outside the Equatorian town of Yambio.

The statement says the United Nations and local authorities led negotiations for their release.

Neither South Sudan's government nor opposition has taken responsibility for the abduction. Each often blames the other in such circumstances.

This is the third abduction of humanitarian workers in two months in South Sudan. Seventeen aid workers were kidnapped by armed groups in two separate incidents last month.

The release comes as a new round of peace talks on the conflict is underway in neighboring Ethiopia.