A driver working for a contractor of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) was kidnaped by unidentified gunmen on Tuesday in the Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan, according to a local chief.

The head of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms in Abyei, Chief Bulabek Kuol, said yesterday that around 3:00 pm, 8 UN staff in two cars were hijacked at gunpoint at their place of work.

The chief told Radio Tamazuj that seven of them were later freed with one car while the gunmen left with one person who was working as a driver. The chief identified him as a Sudanese national from one of the Nuba tribes.

He further revealed that the abduction took place deep inside Abyei area between Anaal and Talob. Kuol noted that the abductors headed north toward Sudanese territory. 

A second source in northern Abyei confirmed the development, saying the whereabouts of the abducted employee is now unknown. 

Correction, 15 Jan. 2015: Radio Tamazuj initially reported that the abductee was a driver working for the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA). A week after publication of this report, the UN confirmed that the driver was working for a contractor for the UN Mine Action Service, not for UNISFA itself. The text of this article has been modified accordingly.