At first glance, the latest incident of oilfield hostage-taking by South Sudan insurgents appears unremarkable — the same old story of innocent oil workers falling victim to border insecurity, usually freed later but sometimes paying for political and diplomatic gridlock with their lives.
Kidnapping for ransom has become commonplace in South Sudan — of United Nations contractors, aid workers and even refugees — with fingers pointing not only at fractured rebel groups but also the government’s own paranoid security services.
