AMERICAS

1. (MEXICO, 30/05/18) Oil worker kidnapped and killed in Veracruz
The body of an oil worker who was kidnapped on 27 May was found decapitated on 29 May on a road outside the municipality of Agua Dulce, Veracruz State. It is believed the hostage was killed because his family did not manage to pay the two million pesos (USD 101,000) ransom his kidnappers demanded. FULL ARTICLE

AFRICA

2. (SOUTH AFRICA, 29/05/18) Taiwanese kidnapped in Johannesburg
On 24 May, two Johannesburg residents helped a Taiwanese man, Shang Yu, who was badly injured after a kidnapping ordeal. Yu flagged down the two men near Mall of the South. Yu explained he was in the country visiting family members and had been abducted from Cyrildene by a group of nine, six males and three females, driving two cars with police sirens. He said he was stopped by the group while walking back from a restaurant, and forced into one of the vehicles at gunpoint. Yu was then taken to an undisclosed location where he was beaten while a ransom was demanded from his relatives. An investigation has been opened by the police. FULL ARTICLE

3. (DRC, 30/05/18) Twenty civilians kidnapped in eastern DRC
According to local sources, at least 20 civilians have been kidnapped since 25 May in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The kidnappings took place in several communities located about 75 km north of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. According to local authorities, the kidnappers are demanding ransoms to release the hostages, and families are starting to organize to obtain their release. In Rushturu, locals have organized strikes and peaceful marches to protest these crimes. Several armed groups claiming to defend Congolese communities (Hutus, Hunde, Nande) are active in Rutshuru, as in the rest of North Kivu. FULL ARTICLE

ASIA

4. (INDIA, 30/05/18) Naxals torch road construction vehicles, abduct labourers
On 24 may, naxals torched four road construction vehicles and abducted eight labourers in Bihar’s Munger district. Four of the hostages have already been released, according to the authorities. A search operation has been launched to track down the kidnappers and the rest of the abductees. FULL ARTICLE