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Gunmen abducted 2 Russian pilots in Darfur

  1. Posted on Monday 30 August 2010 - 10:58
    raphie
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    By Ryekolal Raphie Africanews reporter in Kampala
    Darfur-The army spokesman said on Monday, the second kidnapping of 2 Russian pilots in the war-torn region of western Sudan this month.

    "Two Russian pilots were kidnapped by a small armed group in a section of Nyala," Saad said. "We have closed off all access routes (around Nyala)."

    The pair were seized in Nyala, capital of South Darfur state, on Sunday around 16:00 (13:00 GMT), spokesperson Sawarmi Khaled Saad told AFP.

    The pilots were working for the private aviation company Badr, Saad told the official Suna news agency.

    Abdel Hamid Kasha, the governor of South Darfur, said no details on the latest situation were available.

    In July, a Russian helicopter pilot was taken prisoner after landing in South Darfur to pick up a group of rebels and transport them to Chad for peace talks, the Russian foreign ministry.

    And on August 14, two Jordanian police advisers deployed with the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force police were kidnapped by gunmen but released a few days later.

    But all the 19 foreigners previously kidnapped in Darfur have since been released except an American aid worker with the Samaritan's Purse group abducted in May. Her kidnappers are demanding a ransom.
    End

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