20100816
africanews

Armed men abducted two U.N.-African Union (UNAMID) peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region in the biggest town Nyala. The mission said the two men were walking to a UNAMID transport dispatch point about 100 meters from their residence when they were approached by three individuals in a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

An American woman working for the charity Samaritan's Purse was kidnapped almost three months ago near Nyala and remains in captivity.

The kidnappings have become a new business in Darfur with tribal leaders reporting that handsome government ransoms were paid for some hostages, fuelling the abductions. Khartoum denies paying any ransom money.

Sudanese authorities have prevented aid workers from entering the camp in South Darfur following violence there earlier this month that left at least six people dead.

And Peacekeepers and foreign aid workers have faced increased hostility in Darfur since last year, when the International Criminal Court indicted Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes.