Abducted Latvian airmen alive and unhurt in Darfur

The Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that contact was made with the three Latvian crewmen who were abducted in South Darfur. The Latvians are pilots who were doing contract work for the World Food Programme. They were abducted at gunpoint on 5 November from where they were living in a neighborhood of Nyala. They are alive and well and in good health.  

The ministry said in a statement that the Latvian citizens do not need medical help at this time. The ministry said that officials of the World Food Programme managed to make contact with the kidnappers. The ministry said the abductors have not made specific demands.

Latvian diplomats and counterterrorism officials are in Sudan to help handle the problem.