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Three Russian pilots released on 30 August, two days after they were kidnapped in Darfur, were only the latest in a string of foreigners associated with humanitarian operations there to be abducted this year.
The concern from the humanitarian side is that these kidnappings affect the ability of humanitarians to carry out their work in Darfur. The lack of arrests and prosecutions in any of these cases has frequently been cited as contributing to a climate of impunity, meaning that the threat would appear to remain undiminished, Samuel Hendricks, spokesman for OCHA in Sudan, told IRIN.
In all, some 22 aid workers, peacekeepers and pilots have been abducted at gunpoint, for periods ranging from three to 147 days (see table).
The trend led UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to speak out earlier this month, saying: “Continued attacks on UNAMID [UN-AU Mission in Darfur] peacekeepers and abductions and mistreatment of UN staff and humanitarian workers will only aggravate the situation” in Darfur.
Humanitarian operations in the region have also been affected by the Sudanese government’s expulsion of 13 international aid agencies in January 2009 following the arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity issued against President Omar al-Bashir.
| Who | How many |
Date taken |
Where | Date Released |
Duration |
Nationalities |
| MSF-B |
3 | 11 March 2009 |
Saraf Omra (ND) | 14 March 2009 |
3 Days |
Canadian, French, Italian |
| AMI |
2 | 04 April 2009 |
Ed El Fusan (SD) |
29 April 2009 |
25 days |
French, Canadian |
| GOAL |
2 | 03 July 2009 |
Kutum(ND) |
18 October 2009 |
106 days |
Ugandan, Irish |
| UNAMID | 2 | 29 August 2009 |
Zalingei (WD) |
13 December 2009 |
120 days |
Nigerian, Zimbabwean |
| ICRC | 1 | 22 October 2009 |
Bir Dagig Area (WD) |
18 March 2010 |
147 days |
French, British |
| UNAMID |
4 | 11 April 2010 |
Returning to Kutum from Ain Siro (ND) |
26 April 2010 |
15 days |
South African |
| Samaritan's Purse |
1 | 18 May 2010 |
Nyala (SD) |
30 August 2010 |
105 days |
American |
| THW | 2 | 22 June 2010 |
Abuajura (SD) |
27 July 2010 |
35 days |
German |
| UNAMID | 2 | 14 August 2010 |
Nyala Town (SD) |
17 August 2010 |
3 days | Jordanian |
| Sudanese Badr Airlines |
3 |
29 August 2010 |
Nyala Town (SD) | 31 August 2010 |
2 days | Russian |
Chart provided by OCHA
cp/am/mw
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
