February 2 - 2021 EL GALABAT
Gunmen in Ethiopia (File Photo)
Three Sudanese merchants who were kidnapped by Ethiopian
shifta gunmen on Saturday, have been released after their families reportedly paid a ransom of SDG 3.6 million . Witnesses from the area told Radio Dabanga that the families handed over the ransom to the kidnappers in the Shaibet area in Sudan, after which the gang released the merchants.
The angry families of the kidnapped merchants tried to enter the Ethiopian town of Matama with edged weapons, but they were persuaded to return.
As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, on Saturday the Ethiopian gunmen took the three merchants across the border into Ethiopia and torched a motorcycle owned by the merchants.
February 1 - 2021 EL GALABAT
Ethiopian gunmen (Social media)
Ethiopian gunmen have kidnapped three Sudanese merchants. As a result, the border crossing to Ethiopia and the market in El Galabat, El Gedaref, have been closed for the past two days.
On Saturday morning, the Ethiopian gunmen took the three merchants across the border into Ethiopia and torched a motorcycle owned by the merchants.
Hundreds of relatives of the kidnapped gathered in El Galabat, having travelled from the village of El Mudaradama.
Taher El Jamari told Radio Dabanga that the Ethiopian gunmen (known as
shifta in the region) initially demanded a ransom equivalent to SDG 5.4 million for the release of those kidnapped. This amount was later reduced to SDG 3 million after negotiations with the kidnapper’s families over the phone. Negotiations between the two parties eventually stalled following a verbal altercation.