23 March 2008 - UNICEF condemns hijack and abduction of State Water Corporation team in North DarfurUNICEF condemns the attack on a team of engineers from the State Water Corporation (also known as the Water and Environmental Sanitation project) that took place in Um Tajok in North Darfur on Thursday evening, 20 March and calls for the immediate release of four abducted team members and their equipment. The team, and a drilling rig being used to provide clean water for residents in the area, was hijacked at gun point by unidentified assailants – the team’s four drivers, the drilling rig and the group’s vehicles remain unaccounted for. The State Water Corporation works throughout Darfur, supporting all communities with the provision of essential water and sanitation programmes. UNICEF Representative Ted Chaiban said today “The State Water Corporation is a valued partner of UNICEF in providing humanitarian services for the people of North Darfur. It is unacceptable that its staff and equipment should be targeted in this way. We call upon those responsible for this incident to immediately release the missing team members and their equipment without harm.” The National Water Corporation is UNICEF’s main counterpart in providing vital water and sanitation services, through its state-level departments, across the northern states of Sudan, including Darfur. “This incident underlines that it is not only UN and non-governmental organizations that are vulnerable to such banditry,” said Chaiban. “Many humanitarian services are provided by technical staff from government departments and they too are at risk of such attacks. This cannot be condoned, and we demand that all such workers are allowed to operate with safety and security in the Darfur region.”
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