UN hostage released in Darfur

An UN disarmament officer in Darfur was released yesterday afternoon after being held hostage for 90 days. The Hungarian hostage had been held by a militia who were angry at the Sudanese government over the Mawasir Ponzi scheme, he explained to Radio Dabanga when contacted on 10 October 2010.István Papp, a 55-year old Hungarian retired lieutenant colonel, told Radio Dabanga by phone: “What I know, that in North Darfur there was some scandal. Some pyramid game… they lost their money and they want their money back and it looks like that me from UNAMID, I am now the solution.”

The UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said in a press statement yesterday that Sudanese authorities played an “essential role” in the release of the Hungarian. After the Hungarian’s release, the authorities transported him to El Fasher where he underwent a medical examination. “He appeared to be unharmed and in good health, and is now flying to Khartoum,” stated UNAMID.

The abduction had occurred on the night of 7 October, when gunmen burst into the home of three peacekeepers in El Fasher. They left in a UNAMID vehicle parked next to the residence. Two of the three hostages escaped by jumping out of the moving vehicle.

Darfur has a population of 2.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), according to the UN’s 2010 Work Plan. The peacekeepers are tasked with protecting them, yet they cannot even protect their own staff: a total of 10 UNAMID peacekeepers have been abducted since the beginning of the Mission in 2008.