The families of four South African men kidnapped in Iraq last year are making an international plea to their captors, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Wednesday.
Andre Durant, Johan Enslin, Kallie Scheepers and Hardus Greeff were kidnapped in December when they were flagged down at a roadblock north of Baghdad. They were travelling in a convoy. Along with five Iraqis, they were snatched at the roadblock, but the Iraqis were released two days later.
Eleven days after their capture at a roadblock, Durant phoned his family, but there has been no further contact since then.
The families initially did not want publicity for fear of scuppering negotiations. Now they are publicly asking the captors to release the men or contact them directly to negotiate.
The Institute of Security Studies’ Henri Boshoff said 22 South African contract workers have officially died in Iraq. Unconfirmed reports pointed to three deaths over recent weeks.
Between 4 000 and 5 000 South Africans are believed to be working in Iraq.
Last week, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad said South Africa was in talks with the United States-led multinational force in Iraq for assistance in the release of the four.
Responding to questions over possible progress in securing the release of the four men, Pahad said the government was trying through various channels to secure their release.
He said South Africa’s ambassadors in Jordan and Kuwait were also still talking to Iraqi representatives to determine if they could assist in efforts to release the men.
South Africa does not have a diplomatic mission in Iraq.
Pahad said the company the four men worked for, SafeNet Security Services, which is contracted by the US Department of Defence, had not been able to make progress in its talks with the hostage takers. — Sapa