A civilian employee of the UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur has been abducted by armed men in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The kidnapping ocurred just hours after a UN Security Council mission arrived in the area, 7 October. Sudanese armed forces began a hunt for the kidnapped man.
Armed men entered the residence of the kidnapping victim, tied up two of his colleagues and drove off with him and another colleague, who managed to escape. The UN has not released details of the victim. Kidnappings, often for ransom, have increased since Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, was issued an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.
The region has seen increased heavy fighting in the past week and a half.
Links to other sites:AFP, Al-Jazeera, BBC, IOL.com
Wow. Horrible news. The international community really needs to step up its game and pursue some legitimate change in Sudan. Maybe after the film Attack on Darfur comes out in dvd later this month it will gain enough recognition to remind people that these sorts of things are still happening.