Sudan Arrests Second Aid Worker in Darfur Region

In the western region of Sudan, in Darfur approximately 180,000 people have died during the conflict between rebels and the Arab-dominated government because of violence, hunger and diseases. In the midst of this, relief and aid workers are urgently attempting to help stop more than two years of bloodshed.

Despite the great efforts of aid and humanitarian workers, Sudan has now arrested a second aid worker over a alleged rape in Darfur. This latest development has come in addition to them holding a translator of UN chief, Kofi Annan, and a senior official from the international aid agency - Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) being detained a day earlier.

The second aid worker which was arrested in the western region on Tuesday was also from MSF Holland, which published a report in March with details about cases of rape over a period since early 2003 in Darfur. After being detained he was flown back to Khartoum and instantly taken away by security forces.

It is not clear, whether the arrests are linked in any way with the case of the translator, and no official charges have yet been brought as the authorities have said they are not available for comment at this time.

As it stands in the report, at least 20 aid workers have been arbitrarily arrested in Darfur over the past six months. Human Rights Watchdogs have expressed that the authorities should not be arresting aid workers, but war criminals in Darfur.