Three crew members of UN humanitarian air service abducted in Darfur
The incident happened at approximately 10:35 this morning as the crew landed their helicopter in Um Shalaya, located 60 kilometres south-east of El Geneina in West Darfur state, according to information provided by the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID).
Run by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the Humanitarian Air Service flies aid workers from the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as journalists and others, to some of the hardest-to-reach emergency operations around the world.
It plays a vital role in accessing remote locations and in cases where insecurity prevents travel by road.
Three Latvian men working for UNHAS – Captain Artjoms Nalbandjans, co-pilot Janis Gindra and mechanic Kaspars Reihlers – were freed from captivity in early December after being seized by gunmen in the South Darfur capital of Nyala on 4 November.