MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. The gunmen who abducted two Russian citizens in Sudan last week have already demanded a ransom for their release, Sudanese ambassador to Moscow Omar Dahab said on Tuesday.
The diplomat told the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily that relevant authorities are trying to find out what group acting in the region is behind the abduction. "In Khartoum [capital] and Darfur this matter is being dealt with at the highest level," he said.
The ambassador said the fact that the kidnappers have demanded the ransom signals that the abduction is not politically motivated and is just an attempt to earn money, addidng that Sudan's security services have achieved certain progress for the successful release of the Russian nationals. He gave no details of the sum of the ransom.
A spokesperson for Russia’s UTair company confirmed earlier on Tuesday that its two employees working under a contract with United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAUMID) were abducted in the town of Zalingei on January 29.
The Russians were blocked in a UNAUMID minibus by six vehicles, the spokesman said, adding: "The passengers, who were held at gunpoint, were forced to leave the bus and were taken in an unknown direction."