Two aid workers kidnapped in South Darfur

April 5, 2009 (PARIS) — Tow aid workers have been kidnapped Saturday in South Darfur region by unknown gunmen. They are working with the French Aide Médicale Internationale.

In a statement issued today the AMI said the two expatiated staff members were abducted at the compound of the group in Ed El-Fursan, on the night of 4 to 5 April.

Located at some 100km form Nyala the state capital, Ed El-Fursan witnessed recently fighting between the Habanniya and the Fallata over the control of land and water. The two tribal groups fought the rebels besides Khartoum government.

The two aid workers are from Canada and France.

Last March unidentified gunmen abducted three aid workers near Serif Umbra, 200km west of El-Fasher the capital of North Darfur. The humanitarians were working with Médecins Sans Frontières – Belgium (MSF), a Belgian nurse, a Canadian doctor and French coordinator. The kidnappers asked for a ransom.

Today also the SMC, a news service close to the Sudanese intelligence said the captors want some 200 million USD to release the hostages.

The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that its crisis center is mobilized and in contact with the group and relevant parties. Also the Canada’s foreign affairs department indicated it had asked Sudanese authorities for “additional information about the incident.

Sudanese foreign ministry official Ali Yousif confirmed the abduction.

The AIM is working in Darfur since 2004. It helps rural population and supports clinics and health centers in Khor Abache and Ed el Fursan, with a coordination centre in Nyala,

The incident is the second since the arrest warrant against the Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir on March 4. Since Sudan expelled 13 foreign aid groups including three French organizations.

(ST)