VoA News: Authorities say three Russian helicopter pilots have been kidnapped in Sudan’s South Darfur region.
The governor of South Darfur, Abel Hamid Kasha, said Friday the pilots were taken at gunpoint from a bus on Thursday in the state capital Nyala.
A security team chased the suspects but was unable to capture them. The pilots work for a private company that has a contract with the United Nations World Food Program.
There has been no confirmation of a ransom demand.
In August, three Russian pilots working for a private company were kidnapped in Nyala. Those pilots were released unharmed two days later.
Peacekeepers and foreign aid workers have faced increased hostility in Darfur since March 2009, when the International Criminal Court indicted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in the region.
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