Kidnappers in Sudan seek ransom for 2 aid workers
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan is negotiating with the kidnappers of two Darfur aid workers for their safe release, preferably without paying the demanded ransom, Sudanese officials said Thursday.
Six gunmen snatched an Irish woman and her Ugandan colleague from their compound in the northern Darfur region of Kutum last week. They worked for the Irish aid group GOAL.
State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Abdel-Baqi Jailani called the kidnappers “bandits” with no political motives and said authorities had located the area where the hostages are held and are negotiating to ensure their safe release.
“Based on security analysis, we identified the kidnappers … and their tribes,” Jailani told The Associated Press. “I can say there is no political motive and they have no connection with the rebels. This is a criminal act by bandits.”
Jailani said the kidnappers had made no threats.
“They have demanded ransom and set a deadline,” he said, refusing to elaborate.
This is the third kidnapping of foreign humanitarian workers in Sudan’s remote western region since March, when an international court issued a warrant for the country’s president on charges of orchestrating war crimes there.
Sudan’s ambassador to Britain and Ireland, who is currently visiting Dublin, confirmed his government has opened negotiations with the kidnappers and the kidnap victims had spoken to their governments and employer.
“We want to negotiate the dignified and peaceful release of these two ladies, but we are counseling others against the idea of paying any ransom,” Ambassador Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddig said, explaining that it would only encourage further kidnapping.
“The negotiations are now going on with the kidnappers with the help of local tribal leaders in Darfur,” he added.
He also described the kidnappers as “a criminal gang” and said negotiators were seeking the victims’ release without paying a ransom.
The series of abductions, along with Sudan’s expulsion of 13 international aid agencies in response to the arrest warrant, has struck a blow to the vital aid effort in the remote desert region, now in its sixth year of conflict.
The minister in Khartoum said the kidnapping would affect the humanitarian action in Darfur, but added no aid groups have asked to be evacuated from the region.
He said bandits in Darfur are now opting for the kidnapping of foreign aid workers because they see it as more “profitable” than carjacking or break-ins, which are fairly common in the war-ravaged region.
He said his government is “taking precautions for this not to be repeated.”
“We have asked aid groups to agree to police protection and escort. Some aid groups agreed. We will work with the aid groups to ensure their safety,” Jailani said.
Aid organizations working in Darfur have always preferred to work without security from the government or peacekeepers in the region to avoid appearing as taking sides in the conflict.
Sudan’s Arab-dominated government has been battling ethnic African rebels in Darfur since 2003. Up to 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million have been driven from their homes.
The International Criminal Court in the Hague, Netherlands, has issued an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir for orchestrating a counterinsurgency that was marred by atrocities committed by allied militia. He has denied the charges and ignored the arrest warrant.
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Associated Press Writers Shawn Pogatchnik from Dublin and Sarah El Deeb from Cairo contributed to this report
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