Coptic pastor abducted in South Darfur

Armed men have abducted a pastor of the Coptic Church from his farm in Nyala locality, South Darfur, on Wednesday night.

Rev. Gabriel Anthony, pastor of the Holy Mary Girgis Coptic Church, was attacked in Bielel, south of Nyala. A witness said that he was working with his brother in their farm.

Unidentified gunmen abducted him under the force of arms and took him to an unknown destination in northern direction. His brother managed to flee to Nyala, where he reported the incident to the police.

Commissioner of Nyala North, Ismail Yahya, confirmed the incident. He said that the security service is exerting great efforts to retrieve Anthony. So far the identities and motives of the kidnappers are not yet known.

He further denied any religious dimension to the incident, or any link with terrorist groups; it was a criminal incident carried out by armed groups.

The Copts and other long-established Christian groups are known to experience a discriminatory treatment by Khartoum, according to Minority Rights Group International in 2008. They numbered up to 500,000 of the Sudanese population.