Two UN vehicles hijacked by unknown gunmen in Darfur

May 9, 2007 (AL-FASHIR) — Two vehicles of the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) have been hijacked by unknown gunmen in the conflict-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur, well-informed sources said on Wednesday.

The sources told Xinhua that an unidentified number of international and local staff, members of the UNMIS Darfur Office,in the vehicles were believed kidnapped.

The two vehicles were on a routine duty on the outskirts of Fashir, the capital of North Darfur State, when the UNMIS Darfur Office in the city lost contacts with them, according to the sources.

Meanwhile, the sources announced that two Sudanese employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and their driver, who had been kidnapped in Fashir, were released by the abductors on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, three gunmen hijacked the vehicle which the three Sudanese were driving and drove it northward to Katam, an area where rebel National Redemption Front (NRF) are actively launching military actions against the government forces.

The abductions took place at a time when the UN was considering how to implement a plan of sending some 3000 soldiers, policemen and civilian officers to reinforce the African Union (AU) peacekeeping force in Darfur.

The plan, which known as “the Heavy Support Package (HSP)”, is the second step of a three-phase deal on the deploying a UN-AU hybrid force in Darfur, was approved by the Sudanese government on April 16.

UNMIS has called for a cessation of hostilities before the HSP could be delivered from the UN to the 7800-strong AU force in Darfur.

“For this operation on the Heavy Support Package to be effectively implemented… Violence and military action in Darfur must cease,” UNMIS Spokesperson Radhia Achouri said in Khartoum recently.

She said that Janjaweed, the most famous militia in Darfur, as well as other spoilers must be disarmed, and attacks on humanitarian workers and peacekeepers must be stopped.

(Xinhua)