Russian pilots kidnapped in Sudan are alive

The Russian crew members of the Badr Airlines Mi-8 helicopter abducted in Sudan are alive, Mikhail Margelov, special representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Sudan, told RIA Novosti. The commander of the aircraft V.V.Malay, co-pilot K.V.Pelikaev, flight engineer G.N.Filevchenko were captured on August 29 during a humanitarian mission to deliver products for the UN and the African Union in Darfur (UNAMID).

Now they are being held in Nyala by "a semi-political, semi-gangster group that specializes in taking foreign hostages for ransom," says Mikhail Margelov.

The day before, Sudanese army lieutenant colonel Khaled Saad said today that soldiers surrounded several residential areas of the city where Russian pilots and their captors could be found.

Recall that a few weeks ago it was also reported about the abduction of Russian pilots in Darfur. Then, allegedly, the rebels seized a helicopter of the Russian airline UTair. The helicopter later returned with Russians on board to Nyala.

Recently, kidnappings of foreign professionals for ransom have become more frequent in Darfur.