Abducted Russian pilot released

The missing pilot, who disappeared after a Russian helicopter was hijacked in Dafur, has been freed, RIA Novosti reports, citing Russia's envoy in Sudan.

Yevgeny Mostovshchikov has already been taken to the UN mission.

The helicopter, carrying four crewmembers and five passengers, was seized by insurgents on Monday, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The remaining three crewmembers and all five passengers on board were confirmed safe shortly after the siege.The pilot was released at around 16.30 GMT. The circumstances of the release are still being clarified.

The helicopter, working in Sudan under a UN contract, was on a joint UN and African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

The civil war that broke out in the western region of Darfur in early 2003 has claimed the lives of more than 300,000, according to United Nations estimates, and forced 2.7 million people from their homes, the RIA Novosti report says.