CORRECTED: Three Latvian pilots abducted in Darfur

Three Latvian air crewmen were abducted in Darfur yesterday. The crewmen work for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The abductees are described as two pilots and a mechanic.

The governor of South Darfur State announced the abduction in remarks to reporters today. A state news agency said that the pilots were in Nyala, walking in a residential area, when eight gunmen in a car abducted them.

WFP confirmed that the pilots work for the agency.

A similar abduction of three Russian pilots occurred in August, also in a residential quarter of Nyala. The pilots were later released unharmed. Another Russian pilot contracted by the UN had been kidnapped at a remote landing site about a month earlier, and held for several days.

The AFP reported that crewmen are employees of GM Helicopters, a Latvian company.

CORRECTION: Upon initial publishing, this text stated that the crewmen were Russians.