Two German aid workers kidnapped in Darfur more than a month ago were released today and said on arrival in Khartoum that they had been well treated by their captors.
Malthe Golla and Werner Stern were snatched on June 22nd from their residence in the South Darfur capital Nyala, where they were working for Technisches Hilfswerk (THW).
Their kidnapping was seen as an escalation of a series of abductions which had until then occurred mainly outside the main towns.
"We still can't believe that we are free," said Mr Stern at Khartoum airport. "We are just dreaming about having a nice shower and changing clothes after five weeks."
Mr Golla said they were in good condition and were treated very well.
"(My family) were very worried about me so they will be happy now," he said, sporting a long beard and looking tired and thin.
Other foreigners taken hostage in Darfur had spent more than three months in captivity and Mr Stern said they were lucky to have been freed after just under five weeks.
"Stopping kidnapping... it's always a difficult thing," he said. "I can just advise everyone to take security really seriously and take precautions as much as possible." The kidnapping occurred just over one month after an American female aid worker from the US charity Samaritan’s Purse was abducted outside Nyala. She is still being held.
In April, four South African peacekeepers in Darfur's joint UN/African Union UNAMID force were kidnapped after leaving their base near Nyala. The two men and two women were released unharmed two weeks later.
Aid groups in Darfur reported a surge of hostility towards their workers after the International Criminal court issued an arrest warrant in March 2009 for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to face charges of ordering war crimes in Darfur.
Khartoum expelled 13 foreign aid organisations soon afterwards. A further charge of genocide was added to the ICC charge sheet this month.
The United Nations estimates some 300,000 people have died in the humanitarian crisis sparked by Khartoum's brutal counter-insurgency campaign to quell a revolt by Darfuris demanding more power and wealth.
The region's lack of security and the kidnappings, despite UNAMID’s presence, have severely hindered an aid operation that is now the world’s largest.
Reuters