SOFIA
Six Bulgarian UN aid workers who were detained by rebels in Sudan's strife-torn South Kordofan region have been released.
"They are in good health and are in a safe place with a team of the United Nations (World) Food Programme," Bulgarian foreign ministry spokeswoman Betina Zhoteva said.
The WFP six workers were taken into custody by Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) on January 26, when their helicopter made an emergency landing in South Kordofan.
SPLM-N spokesman Mubarak Ardol confirmed the six Bulgarians' transfer to the UN was complete, after they were moved from rebel-held territories in Sudan to the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan, where they were handed over to the UN.
On Friday, the chairman of Bulgarian Heli Air, the helicopter's operator, said the aid workers would be released after talking with the detainees over the phone.
The SPML-N rebels said the aid workers had been free to leave but accused the Khartoum government of blocking access to UN helicopters. A Sudanese government source has denied this.
The Bulgarian foreign ministry thanked the office of the WFP for the rescue, as well for the constructive role of the Sudanese government.
Fighting between the Khartoum government and SPLM-N rebels has increased in the states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan, where the helicopter had to land, since peace talks collapsed in December.
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