Red Cross facilitates transfer of five in Darfur

Three people released by the Sudan Liberation Movement, led by Abdel Wahid (SLA-AW) and two civilians were taken by helicopter today to Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, where they were placed in the care of the Sudanese authorities. They were accompanied by two delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which served as a neutral intermediary in the transfer operation. The two civilians, a seriously sick woman accompanied by her husband, were transported to the hospital. The head of the Red Cross delegation in Sudan, Jean-Christophe Sandoz, said that this action was the tenth of such kind this year. “So far, the Red Cross has assisted in handovers involving a total of 81 people, including South Sudanese prisoners of war released by the Sudanese authorities, and members of the Sudanese armed forces and civilians released by armed opposition groups,” he said. “The Red Cross is ready to carry out more such operations if asked to do so by the parties concerned.”  Today’s operation had originally been planned for the transfer of the three released people only but the sick woman’s family approached the Red Cross and asked them to take her to Nyala for urgent medical care. The Red Cross delegates contacted the Sudanese authorities in Nyala as well as the hospital to make sure that she would receive emergency care upon arrival.  File photo by Red Cross Related: Five detained army soldiers released to Red Cross in Darfur (4 December 2013)Red Cross assists more than a million Sudanese in 2013 (14 November 2013)