Two peacekeepers serving with UNAMID, the UN and African Union Mission in Darfur, were freed yesterday after being held for 136 days by an unidentified group.
Hasan Al-Mazawdeh and Qasim Al-Sarhan were abducted on August 20, 2012 while on patrol in Kabkabiya, in Northern Darfur.The two Jordanian nationals were medically checked and both appeared to be unharmed and in good health, UNAMID said in a press release.
Mr Al-Mazawdeh and Mr Al-Sarhan will be flown to Khartoum and back to Jordan as soon as possible.
UNAMID Acting Joint Special Representative Aichatou Mindaoudou thanked the Government of Sudan, the Governor of North Darfur, and the Government of Jordan for their valuable assistance in the safe release of the two peacekeepers.
Thee spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General said Ban Ki-moon was “deeply gratified” over the release of the two UN staff members, and commended the efforts of UNAMID and the Governments of Sudan and Jordan in securing their release.