Gunmen kidnap two UNAMID workers in Darfur

August 30, 2009 10:46:18 AM

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Two civilians working for UNAMID, the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, were kidnapped at gunpoint in Darfur at dawn on Saturday in the first abduction targeting the force.

The unidentified man and woman were seized only days after the commanders of the joint force made controversial remarks about the security situation in Darfur that triggered the ire of the region's main rebel groups.

"This morning at 4:30 (0130 GMT), armed men attacked the UNAMID staff residence in Zalingei, Darfur, and abducted two civilian members of the staff, a man and a woman," force spokesman Noureddin Mezni told AFP.

The kidnappings mark the first abductions of UNAMID staff members, Mezni said, adding that contact had been made with the abductors to determine their demands.

He did not elaborate on the nationality of the hostages or identity of their captors, but sources close to the case said those abducted were a Nigerian man and a Zimbabwean woman, and that the kidnappers do not have political motives.

Zalingei, where the kidnappings took place, is the home town of Abdelwahid Mohammed Nur, head of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), the main Darfur rebel group along with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

According to a military source, Sudanese forces as well as Nur supporters are present in the region.

Both the SLA and JEM condemned the abduction in telephone interviews with AFP.

"We do not know who did that... but we deplore such acts," JEM spokesman Tahir al-Faki said.

Nur, who lives in exile in Paris, echoed him.

"This is a terrorist act and we strongly condemn it," he said. "This is not the behaviour of the SLM to kidnap humanitarian workers or UNAMID people."

Earlier in the week UNAMID's outgoing military commander, Martin Luther Agwai, and departing head Rodolphe Adada said the war in Darfur was in abeyance -- angering both the SLA and the JEM.

"As of today, I would not say there is a war going on in Darfur," Agwai said.

But he added: "Since May until today, what have we had on the ground? The only thing I see is banditry taking place now: carjackings, breaking into people's homes to look for electronics and mobile telephones."

Adada told AFP his soldiers have put an end to the massacres that long plagued Darfur. "I have achieved results. The main result is the end of massacres in Darfur," he said.

JEM spokesman Faki said: "I don't know how they can consider that war is over in Darfur. The war is not over. The war is over when there is a comprehensive peace agreement."

On Saturday he told AFP: "Agwai said that the war in Darfur is over and that there are only a few incidents. If Agwai is right and that the government controls all Darfur then the government should answer why such an incident happens."

Nur meanwhile said: "UNAMID is not active in Darfur. They are not able to protect the civilians and to move from place to place on the ground. They become like (Sudanese President Omar) al-Beshir."

There have been three abductions in Darfur since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in March against Beshir for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

Two cases had peaceful outcomes with foreign human rights workers freed by their captors, but two women aid workers from Ireland and Uganda seized on July 3 are still being held by gunmen demanding a ransom.

Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki were seized from the offices of the Irish aid group Goal in the North Darfur city of Kutum.

North Darfur state Humanitarian Affairs Minister Abdel Baqi Gilani has said he hopes the pair will be released during the current Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

UNAMID was deployed in Darfur in 2008, five years after the conflict began when ethnic rebels took up arms against Sudanese forces and their Arab militias. It replaced a solely African Union force.

The war left around 300,000 dead and 2.7 million displaced according to UN figures. Khartoum says 10,000 died.

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