UNAMID pilot found after disappearance three days earlier

The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) confirmed late Thursday that a Russian pilot, previously unaccounted for following an incident Monday, was located and returned yesterday evening to UNAMID’s base in Nyala, South Darfur.

 The pilot had been reported missing after his aircraft landed in an undesignated area on 26 July and was met by unidentified hostile elements, the UN Mission stated. The assailants robbed and beat up several of the passengers and crew. While the group safely returned to Nyala on 27 July, the pilot had been unaccounted for. Among the passengers were rebel field commanders of the Liberation and Justice Movement, who were traveling to peace talks at Doha at the invitation of the government of Qatar and under the protection of UNAMID.

Russian officials had blamed rebels for the pilot’s disappearance while several rebel groups denied knowledge of the incident and said the aircraft had landed near a Sudanese army base.

The Russian pilot was retrieved yesterday by a UNAMID helicopter that took off from Nyala at 17:15 carrying Sudanese and Mission Security Officers. The team landed in Oum Sader, approximately 55 km north of Nyala and 50 kilometers east of Kass, for the pick-up of the missing crew member. The aircraft touched-down in Nyala at 20:15hrs with the Russian pilot who is to be debriefed following a medical check-up.