A Swiss woman, reportedly working for an aid organisation, has been abducted in the conflict-torn Darfur region of Sudan, Switzerland's foreign ministry said Sunday. The Swiss foreign ministry told AFP in an email it was "aware of the case of a Swiss woman kidnapped in Sudan (Darfur)."
"Our local representatives are in contact with the local authorities," it said, adding that the case was being investigated. The foreign ministry did not provide any details on the identity of the abducted woman or the circumstances surrounding her kidnapping.
The Sudanese government has not confirmed or officially commented on the incident. But social media reports indicated she had been working for a Swiss non-governmental organisation providing aid to children, and that she was abducted in the North Darfur capital of El-Fashir.
It came despite repeated claims by Sudanese officials that the region was safe as the long-running conflict there had ended. Just weeks ago, the United Nations peace-keeping force began downsizing its presence in the region and days ago Washington lifted its 20-year-old trade embargo against Khartoum.
Several aid workers in Darfur had raised concerns over their safety following the decision to withdraw some UN forces from the region. More than 2.5 million people have fled their homes since 2003, when a conflict erupted in Darfur after ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's Arab-dominated government, accusing it of marginalising the region economically and politically. Most of the displaced live in camps, after escaping fighting between government forces and rebels that the United Nations says has killed around 300,000 people.
Comments
Comments are closed.