Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin has described as “very useful” his meetings with Sudanese officials dealing with the case of the Irish aid worker kidnapped, along with a Ugandan colleague, more than two months ago in Darfur.
Armed men seized Sharon Commins (32), from Clontarf, Dublin, and Hilda Kawuki (42), from their compound in Kutum, a town in north Darfur, on July 3rd. The two women work for Irish aid agency Goal.
Mr Martin flew to Khartoum at the weekend. He discussed the abduction with Sudanese government and security officials including his counterpart Deng Alor; President Omar al-Bashir's main adviser on Darfur, Ghazi Salaheddin; and Abdul Bagi al-Jailani, the minister for humanitarian affairs who has been overseeing negotiations for the women's release.
"The Minister had very useful meetings with senior officials and representatives of the Sudanese government during which he impressed on them how serious Ireland regards the resolution of this case," a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said today.
Mr al-Jailani told The Irish Times last night that the meetings had been "very fruitful". "We briefed the Minister on our efforts, and told him that, though this has been a long road of negotiation, we expect these efforts to materialise into something soon," he added.
Mr Martin is expected to leave Sudan later tonight. Ireland has maintained a constant presence of diplomats and negotiators in the country since July, including Gerry Corr, the Irish ambassador to Egypt who also has responsibility for Sudan.
Sudanese officials have described the kidnappers as members of a nomadic tribe in north Darfur, who are seeking a ransom. Khartoum says it is determined not to pay, fearing this could encourage a fresh spate of abductions.
Mr al-Jailani said Sudanese authorities were continuing to liaise with tribal elders in north Darfur to free the women. Officials stopped talking directly to the kidnappers some time ago.
Last month, Mr al-Jailani said Khartoum was considering offering legal immunity to the men if they agreed to hand over the two aid workers. Sudanese officials have expressed hope that there may be some developments before the holy month of Ramadan ends, on or about September 19th.
Goal's CEO John O'Shea welcomed Mr Martin's decision to travel to Khartoum. "We hope that he will bring an increased sense of urgency to the situation, and that we will soon have a successful outcome," Mr O'Shea said last night.
The kidnapping has become the longest-lasting abduction of foreign aid staff in Darfur. Between March and July, two groups of humanitarian workers were captured. One group was held for three days, the other for more than three weeks before being released unharmed.