Khartoum, (Sudan): Two local civilian staffers of the UNAMID joint UN-African Union peacekeeping forces in Darfur were kidnapped by gunmen early today, the spokesman for the UN mission said.
"This morning at 4:30 am local time, armed men attacked
the UNAMID staff residence in Zalingei, Darfur and abducted
two civilian members of the staff, a man and a woman,"
Noureddin Mezni told.
The kidnappings mark the first abductions of UNAMID staff
members, Mezni said, without identifying the civilian workers
or the kidnappers.
He said contact had been made with the abductors to
determine their demands.
There have been three abductions in Darfur since an the
International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in March
against Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir for alleged war
crimes in Darfur.
Two cases had a happy ending with foreign human right
workers freed by their captors, but two women aid workers from
Ireland and Uganda who were seized on July 3 are still being
held.
Gunmen, demanding a ransom, kidnapped Sharon Commins and
Hilda Kawuki from the offices of the Irish aid group Goal in
the North Darfur city of Kutum.
"We`re expecting good news during Ramadan," North Darfur
state Humanitarian Affairs Minister Abdel Baqi Gilani said on
Monday, two days after the start of the Muslim fasting month.
Bureau Report
