Sudan fails to free kidnapped West Kordofan engineers

The negotiation committee of the Sudanese government in South Kordofan has failed to release the five Sudanese engineers who were, together with two Chinese and one Algerian engineer, abducted by an armed group at the Kanar oil field in West Kordofan since 19 April this year. The two Chinese engineers and the Algerian were released after China had paid the amount of SDG2,7 million ($470,656) on the second of this May. The five Sudanese were kept hostage to ensure the demand of the kidnappers -calling themselves the Popular Front of Sudan- would be met. The chairman of the committee, Mufareh Azaz, confirmed in a press statement that they will resume negotiations with the kidnappers for the release of the remaining engineers. He pointed out that the kidnappers demanded “a real development” in the oil-producing West Kordofan state. According to the kidnappers’ leader last month, eight members of the Sudanese security forces were killed during the attack on the Kanar field. He attributed the reasons for their actions to the Sudanese government’s reluctance to recruit residents of the area for working at the oil fields.File photo: A member of the military stands guard near the pump station of an oil field in Sudan (PressTV) Related: Popular Front of Sudan claims abduction of oil engineers in West Kordofan (24 April 2014)Job seekers killed, injured at oil field in Sudan’s West Kordofan (3 March 2014)