Sudanese rebels 'detain' UN-contracted helicopter

A helicopter and its crew contracted by peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur have been "detained" be rebels in the troubled region for 10 days. The Mi-8 chopper was contracted by a Russian company and did not carry UN markings, Christopher Cycmanick, acting spokesman for the African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said. Three crew members on-board were kidnapped after the helicopter made an emergency landing in ?South Darfur on August 3.? The aircraft landed west of Ed Daein town, where separate attacks hit a UNAMID police patrol on Monday in a region where the Arab Rezeigat and Maaliya tribes have been fighting. According to al-Shorouk news, one of the detained pilots is believed to Sudanese, with the nationality of the other two individuals unknown. Cycmanick said that UNAMID staff are in contact with the rebels and negotiations are underway for their safe release. Inter-ethnic fighting has been the major source of violence in Darfur this year, where an estimated 300,000 people were displaced in the first five months alone, UNAMID says.