The African Union (AU) on Tuesday called for an immediate
release of two African peacekeepers who had been kidnapped in
al-Fashir, the biggest city in Sudan's restive western region of
Darfur.
"We came here for helping the Sudanese people and we do not want
the kidnapping incident to be a negative message for us," Noureddin
Mazeni, the spokesman of the AU Mission in Sudan (AMIS), told
Xinhua.
Two AMIS soldiers were kidnapped in al-Fashir on Sunday by
unidentified armed men and had been moved to an unknown location,
said Mazeni, adding that efforts have been exerting on high levels
to free them.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the AMIS strongly condemned
the kidnapping, urging the Sudanese authorities "to step up their
efforts to apprehend criminal elements and bring them speedily to
justice."
It also noted that the security situation in Darfur was still
volatile and constituted a source for worry in the light of the
numbers of civilians assaulted and killed as well as the attacks
that had been perpetrated against the AMIS.
On Saturday, unidentified armed men attacked a commercial
vehicle near Sirba, West Darfur, killing 22 people and injuring
10others, according to the statement.
The AMIS was established in late 2004 to monitor the
implementation of a ceasefire accord signed between the conflicting
parties in Darfur in the same year.
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2006)
