Two Russian pilots abducted in Darfur
Two Russian pilots operating in Sudan's western region of Darfur have been abducted by unknown gunmen, an army spokesman said on Monday.
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The pair were seized in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state on Sunday spokesman Sawarmi Khaled Saad told the AFP news agency.
"Two Russian pilots were kidnapped by a small armed group in a section of Nyala," Saad said. "We have closed off all access routes [around Nyala]".
The kidnappings mark the second abduction of foreigners in Darfur this month.
On 14 August, two Jordanian police advisers deployed with the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping police were seized by gunmen.
Darfur has seen a wave of kidnappings since March 2009, when the International Criminal Court indicted Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes. Sunday's abduction brings the total number of foreigners captured to 21.
All but one of the 19 foreigners previously kidnapped in Darfur have since been released.
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