Militants hijack Russian helicopter in Sudan
By IANSTuesday, July 27, 2010
Moscow, July 27 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia Tuesday said militants have hijacked its helicopter with nine people on board in Sudan.
“According to the information we have, there are no casualties,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the helicopter was not damaged.
The chopper carrying four Russian crew members and five Sudanese passengers was hijacked in the Sudan’s Darfur region Monday, the statement said.
The helicopter belongs to Russian UTair Aviation company and was working in Sudan on a UN contract.
According to United Nations estimates, the civil war that broke out in the western region of Darfur in early 2003 has claimed more than 300,000 lives. The Sudanese side puts the number of dead at 10,000.
Russia has been maintaining a peacekeeping contingent in the war-torn country since April 2006 as part of the UN Mission in Sudan.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
