AUTHORITIES IN Sudan are confident they will be able to secure within days the release of an Irish aid worker and her Ugandan colleague kidnapped last week in Darfur, a Sudanese government minister has told The Irish Times.
Abdul-Bagi al-Jailani, Sudan’s minister for humanitarian affairs, said negotiations were continuing after contact had been made with those responsible for abducting Sharon Commins (32), from Clontarf, Dublin, and Hilda Kawuki (42), both of whom work for Irish aid agency Goal.
The two women were seized by up to eight armed men who forced their way into the Goal compound in Kutum, a town in north Darfur, last Friday.
“The people holding them are now known by name, by tribe and by clan,” Mr Jailani said in a telephone interview from Khartoum.
“We have our own means and ways to continue the process towards the ladies’ release but we cannot declare the details of this right now. We would just like to stress that we are committed to achieving the safe release of these two ladies.
“We are doing our best to release them as soon as possible. I am quite sure that, in a few days’ time, we will have a positive outcome.”
Asked about the identity of the kidnappers, Mr Jailani said: “These are bandits. They have nothing to do with the [Darfur] rebels, they have nothing to do with politics.”
He confirmed that the kidnappers had demanded a ransom.
Sudanese officials are anxious not to set a precedent of paying a ransom, saying it would only encourage further abductions in the region.
Sudan’s ambassador to the UK, Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddig, who is in Dublin for a pre-planned official visit, is due to meet the Commins family today.
“We are using the influence of tribal leaders and chiefs in the area where they are being held,” Mr Siddig said last night.
“Sudan’s national crisis management team has established two bases in the surrounding area. The negotiations are continuing in a very cautious way because the safety of the ladies is of paramount importance to us.”
Mr Siddig said Sudanese government officials had established direct contact with the kidnappers yesterday.
An Irish delegation of diplomats and negotiators flew out to the Sudanese capital Khartoum at the weekend to assist in efforts to secure the women’s release.
They have held meetings with high-ranking Sudanese officials and also with representatives from other embassies whose citizens have been abducted in the past. Some of the Irish team travelled on to El-Fasher, the main town in north Darfur.
After contact was made with the abductors, Ms Commins was apparently able to phone officials in Dublin and north Darfur, and has confirmed that she and Ms Kawuki are in good health.