Egyptian officer was among AU hostages in Darfur

Oct 12, 2005 (CAIRO) — An Egyptian military officer was among 38 African Union peacekeepers taken hostage earlier this week by rebels in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region, the Egyptian foreign ministry said Wednesday.

It added that Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit had called the embassy in Khartoum to inquire about the condition of Captain Ahmed Mohamed Tawfiq, a member of the AU mission in Darfur.

“The foreign minister affirmed that the Egyptian officer has returned safely to his base,” a statement said.

The AU said on Monday all 38 of its peacekeepers had been released after being held for several hours by a dissident faction of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of the main rebel groups in the region.

The abductions came after two AU troops were shot dead in an ambush in Darfur at the weekend, amid a deterioration in security conditions.

Saturday’s deaths were the first AU fatalities in the conflict-torn Sudanese region where it has some 6,300 troops monitoring a fragile ceasefire between rebels and government-backed Arab militias.

Egypt has contributed several military observers and policemen for the mission.

The AU is looking to increase its contingent, which also includes nationals from Rwanda, Nigeria, Senegal South African and Gambia, to 7,700.

An estimated 180,000 to 300,000 people have died in Darfur since the civil conflict erupted in February 2003, with some 2.6 million civilians left homeless.

(AFP/ST)