Gunmen kidnap two UNAMID workers in Darfur

Two civilians working for UNAMID, the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission, were kidnapped at gunpoint in Darfur at dawn yesterday in the first abduction targeting the force.

The unidentified man and woman were seized only days after the commanders of the joint force made controversial remarks about the security situation in Darfur that triggered the ire of the region's main rebel groups.

"This morning at 2.30, armed men attacked the UNAMID staff residence in Zalingei, Darfur, and abducted two civilian members of the staff, a man and a woman," force spokesman Noureddin Mezni told AFP.

The kidnappings mark the first abductions of UNAMID staff members, Mezni said, adding that contact had been made with the abductors to determine their demands.

Zalingei, where the kidnappings took place, is the home town of Abdelwahid Mohammed Nur, head of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), the main Darfur rebel group along with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

According to a military source, Sudanese forces as well as Nur supporters are present in the region.

Both the SLA and JEM condemned the abduction in telephone interviews with AFP.

"We do not know who did that... but we deplore such acts," JEM spokesman Tahir al-Faki said.

Nur, who lives in exile in Paris, echoed him.

"This is a terrorist act and we strongly condemn it," he said. "This is not the behaviour of the SLM to kidnap humanitarian workers or UNAMID people."

Earlier in the week UNAMID's outgoing military commander, Martin Luther Agwai, and departing head Rodolphe Adada said the war in Darfur was in abeyance - angering both the SLA and the JEM.

"As of today, I would not say there is a war going on in Darfur," Agwai said.

But he added: "Since May until today, what have we had on the ground? The only thing I see is banditry taking place now: carjackings, breaking into people's homes to look for electronics and mobile telephones."

Adada told AFP his soldiers have put an end to the massacres that long plagued Darfur. "I have achieved results. The main result is the end of massacres in Darfur," he said. JEM spokesman Faki said: "I don't know how they can consider that war is over in Darfur. The war is not over. The war is over when there is a comprehensive peace agreement."

Yesterday he told AFP: "Agwai said that the war in Darfur is over and that there are only a few incidents. If Agwai is right and that the government controls all Darfur then the government should answer why such an incident happens."

Nur meanwhile said: "UNAMID is not active in Darfur. They are not able to protect the civilians and to move from place to place on the ground. They become like (Sudanese President Omar) al-Beshir."

There have been three abductions in Darfur since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant in March against Beshir for alleged war crimes in Darfur.