Turkish hostages freed in Darfur

February 2, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Five Turks held hostages for five months in Sudan’s western region of Darfur have been freed and flown to Khartoum on Thursday, according to multiple sources.

The five, who work as engineers, were kidnapped along with six Sudanese workers from Um Maharik area, 25 km north of El Fashir, the capital of North Darfur State, Sudan’s official news agency SUNA said.

The kidnapping was not reported at the time neither by the Sudanese or Turkish authorities.

SUNA said that the kidnappers are from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a claim that could not be independently verified by Sudan Tribune as JEM officials were not immediately available to comment.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which facilitated the handover of the hostages and transported them to Khartoum, corroborated Suna’s claim, saying that the Turks were released by JEM.

The ICRC said it was not involved in the negotiations that led to the release of the hostages, adding that its role was confined to liaising between the parties and handling transport arrangements.

SUNA reported that negotiations were underway to secure the release of the Sudanese hostages. It further cited unidentified security sources as saying that JEM had tortured the hostages and forced them to dig wells in the area.

Meanwhile, local press reports in Khartoum indicated that the release of the hostages was negotiated by a well-respected Sufi figure.

The Turkish foreign ministry issued a statement saying that the workers were kidnapped while travelling to Chad. It added that the ministry of foreign affairs Ahmet Davutoglu spoke with each of the Turks and they will return home soon.

Darfur region, which has been the scene of a nine-year-old conflict between the government and ethnic insurgents, witnessed a high incidence of kidnappings in recent years.

More than twenty-two foreigners, mainly Westerners, were kidnapped since March 2008 after Sudan’s president Omar Al-Bashir was issued an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the background of atrocities committed in Darfur.

All hostages were later freed unharmed amid reports that ransoms were paid to secure their release.

The kidnappings, which were carried out by rebel groups and government-allied militias alike, mainly for ransom payment, has greatly hindered humanitarian operations in the region whose conflict led to the death of 300,000 people and displacement of 2.7 million since it started in 2003, according to UN estimates.

(ST)