Turkish hostages freed in Darfur
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February 2, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – Five Turks held hostages for five months
in Sudan’s western region of Darfur have been freed and flown to
Khartoum on Thursday, according to multiple sources.
JPEG - 34.6 kb
A volunteer from Kimse Yok Mu, a Turkish Charity, presents an aid
package to a refugee Sudanese family in South Darfur (29 November 2010
/ MINHAC ÇELIK, NYALA)
The five, who work as engineers, were kidnapped along with six
Sudanese workers from Um Maharik area, 25 km north of El Fashir, the
capital of North Darfur State, Sudan’s official news agency SUNA said.
The kidnapping was not reported at the time neither by the Sudanese or
Turkish authorities.
SUNA said that the kidnappers are from the rebel Justice and Equality
Movement (JEM), a claim that could not be independently verified by
Sudan Tribune as JEM officials were not immediately available to
comment.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which facilitated
the handover of the hostages and transported them to Khartoum,
corroborated Suna’s claim, saying that the Turks were released by JEM.
The ICRC said it was not involved in the negotiations that led to the
release of the hostages, adding that its role was confined to liaising
between the parties and handling transport arrangements.
SUNA reported that negotiations were underway to secure the release of
the Sudanese hostages. It further cited unidentified security sources
as saying that JEM had tortured the hostages and forced them to dig
wells in the area.
Meanwhile, local press reports in Khartoum indicated that the release
of the hostages was negotiated by a well-respected Sufi figure.
The Turkish foreign ministry issued a statement saying that the
workers were kidnapped while travelling to Chad. It added that the
ministry of foreign affairs Ahmet Davutoglu spoke with each of the
Turks and they will return home soon.
Darfur region, which has been the scene of a nine-year-old conflict
between the government and ethnic insurgents, witnessed a high
incidence of kidnappings in recent years.
More than twenty-two foreigners, mainly Westerners, were kidnapped
since March 2008 after Sudan’s president Omar Al-Bashir was issued an
arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the
background of atrocities committed in Darfur.
All hostages were later freed unharmed amid reports that ransoms were
paid to secure their release.
The kidnappings, which were carried out by rebel groups and
government-allied militias alike, mainly for ransom payment, has
greatly hindered humanitarian operations in the region whose conflict
led to the death of 300,000 people and displacement of 2.7 million
since it started in 2003, according to UN estimates.
(ST)
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