Sudan: ICRC facilitates release of five Turkish citizens

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The Turkish nationals were placed in the care of the ICRC in North Darfur and transferred on an ICRC aircraft to Khartoum. "We assisted in this handover on humanitarian grounds, in our role as a neutral intermediary and at the request of the parties," said Pascal Hundt, the head of the ICRC delegation in Khartoum. "We coordinated this operation with all parties involved, including the Sudanese government." The ICRC took no part in the negotiations that led to the release of the detainees. Its role consisted in serving as a liaison between the parties and in helping with transport arrangements. In keeping with its humanitarian mandate, the ICRC is ready to provide support for any similar operation in the future if asked to do so by the parties concerned. For further information, please contact: Adil Sharif, ICRC Khartoum (for Arabic), tel: +249 1 83 476 464 or +249 912 137 764 Aleksandra Matijevic (for English), ICRC Khartoum, tel: +249 1 83 476 464 or +249 912 170 576 Jean-Yves Clémenzo, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 22 71 or +41 79 217 32 17 Elif Unal Arslan (for Turkish), ICRC Ankara, tel: +90 312 437 30 80 or +90 530 323 6706