The UN mission in the country has called for release of 12 national staff who have been held hostage by the SPLM in Opposition in Upper Nile State.

The workers were in UN barges seized by the SPLM in Opposition forces in Kaka area on Wednesday.

At a press conference on Thursday, the SPLA said the barges were being used to transport soldiers and fuel.

SPLA spokesperson Col Philip Aguer accused the mission of allowing the barges to be used by the opposition without even condemning.

However, UNMIS spokesperson Ariane Quentier says the mission is neutral in the conflict.

She said the opposition forces should release the workers and handover the barges to the mission.

“We would like them to be released as soon as possible, and we would like, as well, the barge and the equipment on the barge to be handed over back,” Ms Quentier stated.

Ms Quentier told Eye Radio that one hundred soldiers of the SPLM in Opposition seized and looted the barges.

She said the act amounts to an international crime that could be tried at the International Criminal Court.

For its part, the SPLM in Opposition said it seized the barges on ground that they were carrying SPLA officers.