Three foreign aid workers with the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur region have been released and are safe, a Sudanese government official said today.
The abductions came at a time of rising tension in Sudan, following the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to face charges of orchestrating war crimes in Darfur.
"It is confirmed," Ali Youssef Ahmed, head of protocol at the foreign ministry, said.
"They have been released. They are safe. They are all right. They are still in Darfur but will be transferred to Khartoum."
Mr Ahmed said the three were freed around noon. At least one Sudanese national had been released earlier, he said, without immediately giving further details.
A UN source said the freed aid workers arrived in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, shortly after 6 pm local time and were due to fly to Khartoum later in the evening.
MSF's Nairobi spokeswoman Susan Sandars said MSF staff in El Fasher had met the kidnapped workers. "We have our own independent confirmation that all four abducted staff members in Darfur have been released," she said.
Armed men seized the staff from the Belgian arm of MSF from their base in north Darfur on Wednesday, sending shockwaves through the region's humanitarian community.
MSF identified them as a Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor, a French coordinator and a Sudanese national.
Reuters