Two UNAMID peacekeepers abducted in South Darfur

Two police advisors with the African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) were abducted near their home in Nyala, South Darfur, yesterday shortly before 8:00 in the morning.

Two police advisors with the African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) were abducted near their home in Nyala, South Darfur, yesterday shortly before 8:00 in the morning. UNAMID announced the abductions in a written statement the evening of the same day. According to the statement, the officers had been walking to a UNAMID “transport dispatch point” located 100 meters from their residence in the city’s Almatar area when they were blocked by three individuals in a 4 x 4 vehicle. The perpetrators seized the peacekeepers at gunpoint and sped off.     

The peacekeepers are currently in a dispute with the government of Sudan over whether to hand over six leaders of Kalma camp who are accused of extra-judicial killings of supporters of the Doha peace process. But UNAMID said that a joint investigation is nonetheless underway with government authorities.