Russian pilots in Darfur released after two days in captivity

August 31, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – Three Russian pilots kidnapped on Sunday by unknown gunmen in South Darfur’s capital city of Nyala were freed today and are expected to be transferred to Khartoum on Wednesday.

The three men, who were working for the Sudanese Badr Airlines but subcontracted to the African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), were taken hostages on their way back from the market in Nyala.

The pro-government Sudanese Media Centre (SMC) said that South Darfur authorities clashed with the abductors but provided no further details.

The Russian special envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov said in an interview with the Echo Moskvy radio station on Tuesday that the captain managed to make a call to the embassy in Khartoum.

“On Monday evening, the crew commander succeeded to make a mobile call to the Russian Embassy in Khartoum. The call was detected and they were spotted,” Margelov said.

He said that after the call Badr Airlines and the Sudanese security services “held talks with their citizens, who are running with weapons in hands and abduct the foreigners occasionally.”

“Our mission was to use all our available peaceful ways, both direct and indirect ways of influence on the situation, and we have done our work,” Margelov said, adding that the Sudanese have done their work “quite efficiently.”

Yesterday Margelov criticized the Sudanese government saying that they appear unable to assert their control over Darfur’s security.

The Deputy Chief of Badr Airlines, Mutaz Shora, said the company did not pay any ransom to release the pilots.

“The company did not receive any ransom demands from the abductors, the hostages were released without any preconditions,” Shora said.

This is the second kidnapping incident in almost a month involving a Russian pilot which Margelov said was carried out by pro-government militias.

The South Darfur governor Abdel-Hameed Kasha vowed in statements to state media that such tough measures will be implemented to prevent similar incidents.

(ST)