Abdul Khaliq Al-Manshouf Al-Ziwai, a revolutionary fighter from Kufra, has just returned home after nine months of captivity . . .[restrict]in Darfur, Sudan. He had been captured by the Sudanese rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and was released after payment of a ransom of LD 100,000.
He was taken captive by JEM forces during fighting in Brega.
JEM, one of the main groups fighting against the Sudanese government in Darfur conflict, was funded and armed by the Qaddafi regime. During the Libya uprising, its troops were pressed into service by the regime to try and attack the revolutionary forces from the south.
They were particularly active in the southeast of the country, especially around Kufra. Many people, particularly women, fled the town for the safety of Benghazi because of attacks there by JEM.
Since the demise of the Qaddafi regime and an end to support from Libya, JEM has been put on the defensive in Darfur. In December, its leader Khalil Ibrahim was killed in an air strike on a house in North Kordofan where he was staying.
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