Russia says its pilot freed in South Sudan
January 22, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The Russian government announced today that its pilot detained in South Sudan has been released along with the rest of the crew.
Itar-Tass said that the crew was operating an Antonov An-32 jetliner of the Sudanese airline Park Air when it was taken hostage in late December. In addition to the Russian, the crew was made up of citizens of Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Sudan.
Margelov said that the pilots would continue working for the airline despite their detention ordeal.
This month the Russian ambassador to Uganda said the pilots were detained while loading cargo in the town of Sarjas and held in a military camp there.
The reason for the incident is not clear but Margelov has previously said that this was due to tense relations between North and South Sudan.
South Sudan became independent last July after its citizens decided in a referendum held in early 2011 to secede from the Arab-Muslim dominated north.
But despite the smooth breakup, the two countries are at odds over a wide range of issues particularly oil and borders.
This week the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said that his government will likely withdraw its military helicopters servicing the United Nations peacekeeping force in South Sudan (UNMISS) citing security situation.
South Sudan’s government has apologized to Russia for the attacks on its helicopters last year and vowed to take steps to ensure there were no new attacks on Russian aircraft by South Sudanese.
(ST)