Gunmen seize Red Cross vehicles in Sudan’s Darfur region

Nov 2, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Armed men seized two vehicles belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sudan’s Darfur region but harmed none of the nine-member aid team who later walked to safety, Sudanese and ICRC officials said Wednesday.

Sudanese workers stand outside the Sudanese Red Crescent compound in al-Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, Aug. 31, 2004 .

The Sudanese military issued a statement blaming rebels from the Sudan Liberation Army -one of two groups battling the government since 2003 – for the latest incident that occurred Tuesday.

The ICRC the two vehicles were stolen by unidentified armed men who stopped the convoy on a road between the West Darfur towns of Selia and Gos Mino.

ICRC spokesman in Sudan, Paul Conneally, said the nine workers were left unharmed on the side of the road and walked 30 minutes to the nearest village before contacting their headquarters for help.

“This is a cause for concern because ICRC is not normally a victim to such banditry and looting and there has been an overall increase in violence and instability in Darfur since mid-September,” Conneally told The Associated Press in Egypt by telephone.

The U.N. and other international bodies have been complaining about the recent increase in insecurity and violence in Darfur, which is hindering the distribution of aid to millions of people displaced by the conflict.

The Sudanese government has been accused of supporting Arab nomads known as the Janjaweed, who have been blamed for a campaign of killings, rape and arson since rebels rose up against the military in 2003. Sudanese authorities deny backing the Janjaweed.

The U.N. estimates that 180,000 people have died, mainly through famine and disease. Several million more have either fled into neighboring Chad or been displaced inside Sudan.

Meanwhile, Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir and First Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit issued a decree ordering the formation of “The Supreme Committee and Subcommittees of Darfur” to take charge of all issues related to Darfur from peace talks to security and legal affairs.

The committee comprises more than 100 members with most coming from northern and southern Sudan. It wasn’t immediately clear if any of the committee’s members hail from Darfur.

El-Bashir also announced the formation of three commissions to monitor the cease-fire agreement for southern Sudan as part of the January peace deal that ended the 21-year civil war; as well as oil resources and foreign funds.

(AP/ST)