MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Two employees of the Russian airline company UTair, who were working under the African Union-UN peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) in western Sudan, were abducted by unknown men in Darfur in late January.
The spokesman added that local Sudanese tribal leaders had also joined the search and demanded the kidnappers release the hostages. The diplomat also vowed that the rescue efforts will go on.
Two Russian men contracted by an international peacekeeping mission in Darfur were reportedly kidnapped in the town of Zalingei. UTair said that some unknown men forced them to get off a minibus they were travelling on and led them in an unknown direction.
The conflict in Darfur began in early 2003, as rebel tribes started conducting attacks against the government, accusing it of the suppression of the non-Arab population of Sudan. The United Nations estimates that some 300,000 have been killed in the standoff and millions displaced.
