2 Jordanian Peacekeepers Freed After Kidnapping in Darfur

Jordanian peacekeepers Hasan Al-Mazawdeh (front) and Qasim Al-Sarhan are welcomed by officials as they arrive at Khartoum Airport, January 2, 2013, after 136 days of captivity in Sudan's Darfur region according to local media.

Two Jordanian peacekeepers abducted in Darfur four months ago were freed on Wednesday, the international force overseeing the conflict-torn region said.

A plane carrying the pair landed at Khartoum airport, the force led by the African Union and United Nations said in a statement that did not identify the kidnappers or say where the soldiers were released and whether a ransom was paid.

Conflict has raged in Darfur since insurgents took up arms against Sudanese government forces in 2003, complaining that Khartoum had neglected the vast, arid region.

The U.N. says as many as 300,000 people may have died in the fighting. Sudan's government has put the death toll at about 10,000.

The two Jordanians were kidnapped in Kabkabiya in northern Darfur in August. Both men were in good health after their release, the international force said.

from VOA News
January 02, 2013

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Four Nigerian peacekeepers killed in Sudan's Darfur

English: Map of Darfur within Sudan, July 2011. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Four Nigerian peacekeepers were killed and eight wounded in an ambush in Sudan's western Darfur region, the international peacekeeper force UNAMID said on Wednesday.

"They were killed last night some 2 km (1.2 miles) from our regional headquarters in El Geneina. They came under fire from all sides," a spokesman for UNAMID said.

UNAMID, the world's largest peacekeeping mission, was deployed by the United Nations and the African Union in the arid western territory after fierce fighting in 2003 which forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

A total of 42 peacekeepers have been killed since UNAMID was set up, according to the force.

Violence in Darfur, where mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum, has ebbed from a 2003-04 peak but international efforts to broker peace have failed to end the conflict.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and other officials to face charges of masterminding atrocities in the region where Sudanese troops and allied Arab militias have sought to crush the rebellion.

Estimates of the death count vary widely.

Sudan's government signed a Qatar-sponsored peace deal with an umbrella organisation of smaller rebel groups last year, but the major factions refused to join.

from REUTERS
Wed Oct 3, 2012 2:48pm GMT

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American aid worker abducted in Sudan's Darfur

KHARTOUM, March 7 (Xinhua) -- An unidentified armed group abducted an American citizen working for UN World Food Program ( WFP) and his Sudanese driver who were on their way to the office in Nyala in Sudan's South Darfur state, Khartoum Al-Hadath daily reported on Wednesday.

"The kidnapping took place at 8:00 a.m. local time (0500 GMT)," the paper quoted unnamed sources as reporting, adding the Sudanese driver Mohamed Al-Muiz was later released near Kas to the west of Nyala while the American was taken to Jabel Marrah.

The South Darfur government who has confirmed the incident, urged foreigners working for humanitarian organizations to be careful and to notify the authorities before moving to any place, the paper said and added that security authorities have been chasing the perpetrators.

A stream of kidnappings of aid workers have recently took place in Darfur region. Some of the people were released with the help of authorities and some others are still held hostages.

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Three rebels killed in clashes in Sudan's East Darfur

KHARTOUM, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- At least three members of Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) were killed when they attacked an area in Sudan's East Darfur State and clashed with local citizens, Khartoum Al-Ahdath daily reported Wednesday.

The paper quoted Al-Daif Iyssa Elao, a local official in East Darfur State, as saying that "the JEM forces attacked areas belonging to Bahral-Arab locality in East Darfur State, which resulted in the killing of three of the attackers and injury of three citizens in the area."

He said the citizens have managed to repulse the JEM rebels and confiscated an armed vehicle belonging to the attackers, according to the report.

The local official further urged the importance of sending more armed forces to completely repulse the movement from the area.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the JEM forces since the announcement by the movement's leader Khalil Ibrahim in November 2011 on the borderline between North and South Kordofan states.

Four rebel movements have recently announced the establishment of an alliance called Sudan Revolutionary Front with the aim of toppling the regime in Khartoum. 

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Gunmen kill 40 people in Warrap state of South Sudan

According to South Sudan government officials, at least least 40 people have been killed by armed gunmen in a cattle raid in South Sudan.

South Sudan on Monday accused its former foes in the Khartoum government of arming gunmen who killed over 40 people in a cattle raid, as the UN warned tensions between the two sides risks regional peace.

In the meantime some reports suggest as many as 100 people could have been killed in the attack on a camp in Warrap state.

Interior Minister Alison Manani Magaya said, “a militia group from Unity state penetrated into Warrap state… and attacked people in a cattle camp, killing over 40.”

Tensions remain high since South Sudan seceded peacefully from Sudan in July after decades of war.

A Warrap state official quoted by Paris-based Sudan Tribune newspaper said, villages belonging to the Luac Jang ethnic group in Tong East county came under attack early on Saturday.

In the meantime Madot Dut Deng, speaker of the state assembly, said he had been told by officials that more than 76 people had been killed, with several unaccounted for.

Interior Minister Alison Manani Magaya quoted by AFP news agency said, “This militia group was armed by the government of Khartoum. The number of wounded is still not clear, but they took a lot of cattle with them.”

from KHAAMA

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