Darfur displaced condemn kidnapping of German aid workers
The leader of the displaced community in Zalingei has condemned the kidnapping of two German employees of the aid agency Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) from their residence in Nyala on Tuesday and said the abductions aimed at forcing the humanitarian relief organizations to leave the region. He appealed to the United Nations to take immediate action to stop and to hold accountable those involved. The operation comes just a month after the kidnapping of a U.S. aid worker outside the city of Nyala, where they are still being held. The coordinator of the camps around Zalingei told Radio Dabanga that the kidnapping is part of a government scheme to force aid agencies to leave Darfur and empty the camps of displaced people who depend on humanitarian aid.Similarly, Abdelbagi A. Jibril of the Switzerland-based Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre, said that the kidnappings constitute a crime under international and humanitarian law. He added that all the kidnappings have taken place in areas controlled by the government without the authorities taking any measures to stop and deter the perpetrators. He asked: “How can German relief workers be kidnapped from within the city of Nyala without the knowledge of the authorities?”Meanwhile the United Nations’ staff in Darfur issued a statement saying “the UN and humanitarian partners are very concerned at the increasingly insecure environment in Darfur in which the humanitarian community serves the people of Sudan. The steady deterioration of security conditions, particularly in the past two months, is not only affecting the population but directly targets the humanitarian community.” The statement referred to repeated kidnappings of aid workers, killing of peacekeepers, vehicle hijackings and banditry. “The reduction of access due to insecurity has already resulted in some cases of either a complete suspension or a serious reduction of activities and delivery of assistance by humanitarian agencies,” said the statement.
The leader of the displaced community in Zalingei has condemned the kidnapping of two German employees of the aid agency Technisches Hilfswerk (THW) from their residence in Nyala on Tuesday and said the abductions aimed at forcing the humanitarian relief organizations to leave the region. He appealed to the United Nations to take immediate action to stop and to hold accountable those involved. The operation comes just a month after the kidnapping of a U.S. aid worker outside the city of Nyala, where they are still being held. The coordinator of the camps around Zalingei told Radio Dabanga that the kidnapping is part of a government scheme to force aid agencies to leave Darfur and empty the camps of displaced people who depend on humanitarian aid.
Similarly, Abdelbagi A. Jibril of the Switzerland-based Darfur Relief and Documentation Centre, said that the kidnappings constitute a crime under international and humanitarian law. He added that all the kidnappings have taken place in areas controlled by the government without the authorities taking any measures to stop and deter the perpetrators. He asked: “How can German relief workers be kidnapped from within the city of Nyala without the knowledge of the authorities?”
Meanwhile the United Nations’ staff in Darfur issued a statement saying “the UN and humanitarian partners are very concerned at the increasingly insecure environment in Darfur in which the humanitarian community serves the people of Sudan. The steady deterioration of security conditions, particularly in the past two months, is not only affecting the population but directly targets the humanitarian community.” The statement referred to repeated kidnappings of aid workers, killing of peacekeepers, vehicle hijackings and banditry. “The reduction of access due to insecurity has already resulted in some cases of either a complete suspension or a serious reduction of activities and delivery of assistance by humanitarian agencies,” said the statement.
(Photo: the logo of Technisches Hilfswerk, a volunteer aid agency controlled by the German federal government)
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