Bulgarian UN contractors freed in Sudan
February 1, 2015
The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said an operation to free the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) workers was successfully completed on Sunday.
"They are in good health and are in a safe place," ministry spokeswoman Betina Zhoteva said.
"The operation was performed in coordination between the Bulgarian government and the WFP. No ransom was paid and the case was not considered a kidnapping," she added.
The six contractors had been flying a UN-marked helicopter from South Sudan to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, on Monday when they had to make what the WFP described as an "unexpected landing" in a remote part of the South Kordofan region, near the border to South Sudan.
Shortly after they touched down, the crew was taken into custody by the rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement - North (SPLM-N).
Rebel spokesman Mubarak Ardol told Reuters the Bulgarians had been handed over to the United Nations after being moved from rebel-held territories in Sudan to the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan.
The province of South Kordofan - where the crew landed - has suffered from instability ever since South Sudan split from Sudan in 2011. It has also been the scene of intense fighting between SPLM-N rebels and the Khartoum government following the collapse of peace talks in December.
nm/sb (Reuters, AFP, AP)