A Christian charity’s plane was hijacked Tuesday while on a mission of mercy in Africa’s war-torn South Sudan.
“A Samaritan’s Purse plane, which is based and operating only within Africa, was involved in a hijacking incident on Tuesday, Dec. 2, with a pilot and one staff member on board,” Samaritan’s Purse said in a statement on its website.
“The Caravan aircraft was en route to Maiwut, South Sudan, to deliver medicines to be used by our mobile medical unit based there,” the charity said.
“The pilot was eventually able to land the plane in Wau, South Sudan, where the armed hijacker was taken into custody by the National Security Service of South Sudan,” the release said.
“We praise God that no one was seriously injured, and we are grateful to the security forces for their support and swift action on the ground to resolve the situation and bring a safe outcome,” the charity said.
NC-based Samaritan’s Purse said it is thanking God after a hijacking involving one of its aircraft ended safely in South Sudan
Details >> https://t.co/eOKDbZ64Gs pic.twitter.com/ov9MZwbs8L
— Queen City News (@Queen_City_News) December 3, 2025
Samaritan’s Purse was founded by evangelist Franklin Graham to share faith and comfort with people in crisis around the world.
The State Department warns against travel to South Sudan “due to risk of unrest, crime, kidnapping, landmines, and health threats.”
The warning said that fighting among political and ethnic groups is rampant, with the various warring factions having easy access to weapons.
Violent crime that includes carjackings, shootings, assaults, robberies, and kidnappings is common, the State Department warned.
In a recent presentation to the United Nations, Barney Afako of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan said the nation is on the brink of returning to anarchy.
“South Sudan’s political transition is falling apart,” he said.
“The ceasefire is not holding, political detentions have become a tool of repression, the peace agreement’s key provisions are being systematically violated, and the Government forces are using aerial bombardments in civilian areas. All indicators point to a slide back toward another deadly war,” he said.
Since March, fighting in South Sudan has displaced more than 370,000 civilians.
The nation has about 2.6 million displaced people due to years of war.
“The suffering of South Sudan’s people is not collateral damage – it is the direct consequence of political failure,” commission chair Yasmin Sooka said.
“Once again, civilians are being bombarded, women are being raped, children are being displaced and forcefully recruited into combat roles, and entire communities are living in fear – all of this is a tragic repetition of South Sudan’s painful past. This war on the people of South Sudan is man-made and preventable,” she said.
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