By Mohammed Amin

KHARTOUM, Sudan

A pro-government militia has claimed it saved 115 hostages from the clutches of human traffickers in a desert along Sudan's border with Libya and Egypt, according to a militia official.

Mohamed Hamdan Dalgo, chief commander of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under the command of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), told the media on Sunday the majority of victims were from neighboring countries, including Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia.

Dalgo said the victims were handed over to police.

“During 2016, we could secured the lives of at least 1,500 illegal migrants and we lost the lives of many of our soldiers,” he said.

“Fighting the human trafficking in wide and open areas like the desert is hard and costs a lot of money, and we do believe that the EU officials should pay the price with us,” he added.

“We have no big problems with the illegal migrants because we are a transit destination, so the final destination for the influx of the migrants should pay for that,” he added.

The RSF is a pro-government militia that fights alongside government forces against the rebellion in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

The controversial force, which has been annexed to the NISS, is widely believed to be part of the Janjaweed militias that is accused of committing serious crimes in the troubled region of Darfur.

Last year, the EU denied reports claiming the bloc provided support to the RSF to stop the influx of refugees to Europe through Libya and Egypt.