Civilians kidnapped in Darfur
2009-08-29 16:42
Khartoum - Two civilians working for Unamid, the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, were kidnapped at gunpoint in Darfur at dawn on Saturday, in the first abduction targeting the force.
The unidentified man and woman were seized only days after the commanders of the joint force made controversial remarks about the security situation in Darfur that triggered the ire of the region's main rebel groups.
"This morning at 04:30, armed men attacked the UNAMID staff residence in Zalingei, Darfur, and abducted two civilian members of the staff, a man and a woman," Noureddin Mezni told AFP.
The kidnappings mark the first abductions of Unamid staff members, Mezni said, without identifying the civilian workers or the kidnappers.
He said contact had been made with the abductors to determine their demands.
Zalingei, where the kidnappings took place, is the hometown of Abdelwahid Mohammed Nur, head of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), the main Darfur rebel group along with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
According to a military source, Sudanese forces as well as Nur supporters are present in the region.
'The war is not over'
Earlier in the week the mission's outgoing military commander, Martin Luther Agwai, and departing head Rodolphe Adada said the war in Darfur was in abeyance - angering both the SLA and the JEM.
"As of today, I would not say there is a war going on in Darfur," Agwai said.
But he added: "Since May until today, what have we had on the ground? The only thing I see is banditry taking place now: carjackings, breaking into people's homes to look for electronics and mobile telephones."
Adada told AFP his soldiers have put an end to the massacres that long plagued Darfur. "I have achieved results. The main result is the end of massacres in Darfur," he said.
JEM spokesperson Tahir al-Faki said: "I don't know how they can consider that war is over in Darfur. The war is not over. The war is over when there is a comprehensive peace agreement."
Agwai and Adada have only looked at the "number of people who died directly from violence. They have not taken into consideration the IDPs (internally displaced people), the refugees, the people who want to go back home."
Nur was also critical of Unamid.
"Unamid is not active in Darfur. They are not able to protect the civilians and to move from place to place on the ground. They become like (Sudanese President Omar) al-Beshir," he said.
Nur also condemned Saturdays' abductions, speaking with AFP from Paris where he lives in exile.
"This is a terrorist act and we strongly condemn it," he said. "This is not the behaviour of the SLM to kidnap humanitarian workers or Unamid people."