Zalingei, June 19(Darfur 24)
Sources told Darfur 24 that employees of a foreign international non-governmental organization (INGO)who lost contact yesterday with authority in the Khor Ramla area of Central Darfur State have been abducted by unknown gunmen.
Communication with the staff of the french Handicap INGO was lost on Tuesday . It’s worth noting that the staff of the french INGO TL were traveling from El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur State, to Nerti, Central Darfur State.
The sources stated that the organization team was allowed to leave after being stopped at a military checkpoint, but moments later, gunmen intercepted them and forced them to change direction north from the Khor Ramla area.
The abducted organization team consists of five employees, two of whom are French nationals and the others are Sudanese. Among them is the son of a prominent Darfuri tribal leader, who was traveling in two vehicles.
Darfur 24 learned that a local emergency group has been mobilized to track down the kidnapped individuals, while the official authorities’ position is not yet known.
Sources told Darfur 24 that the organization’s team, upon passing through Zalingei, the capital of Central Darfur State, saw the relevant authorities and completed the routine procedures.
The sources added that armed men at one of the gates on the road between Zalingei and Nerti stopped the organization’s employees to check their procedures at 1:00 PM, but communication with them was subsequently lost.”