Darfur kidnappers' intentions 'unclear'
2009-10-24 19:31
Khartoum - The Red Cross said on Saturday it was in contact with the kidnappers in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region of a French staffer, but did not know what they want in exchange for his release.
Gauthier Lefevre, 35, who also holds British nationality, was abducted on Thursday in West Darfur state near the border with Chad.
"The first contact was made yesterday (Friday)" between the kidnappers and the aid agency, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesperson Tamara al-Rifai said in Khartoum.
Rifai said the kidnappers had not made any "specific demands" and that "for the moment, we do not know anything about their motives."
The ICRC was not allowed to speak to Lefevre, but his kidnappers said he was in good health, she said.
Late on Thursday, Sudan's Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs Abdel Baqi Gilani told AFP Lefevre was in "good health" and that he expected him to be released soon.
"He is in good health according to the first report I have received," Gilani said. "I think he will be released soon. The ICRC is very respected and neutral and has no enmity among Darfur groups."
Gilani described the kidnappers as "bandits" and said the Khartoum government "condemns" the incident.
Fifth abduction since March
Thursday's abduction was the fifth of a foreign worker since March, when Sudan's ties with foreign relief organisations soured after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Beshir on charges relating to war crimes in Darfur.
It was the first time a Red Cross employee was targeted, however.
On Sunday, two female aid workers - Irishwoman Sharon Commins and Ugandan Hilda Kawuki - were freed after being held hostage for 107 days in Darfur.
An Irish newspaper on Saturday quoted a Beshir advisor, Musa Hilal, as saying they were ransomed for €150 000, although Irish, Sudanese and Ugandan authorities denied they were freed in exchange for money.
But Hilal, contacted later by AFP, said he had been "misquoted" in the report. "I have no information to know if the authorities paid a ransom ... I was never directly involved in the negotiations with the kidnappers," he said.
The captivity of the two women was the longest endured by foreign aid staff in Darfur since the conflict erupted in the region in early 2003.
2.7 million flee homes
Two members of Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres) and French aid agency Aide Medicale Internationale were kidnapped in March and April and later freed unharmed.
However, two civilian employees of the UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur kidnapped in August are still in the hands of their abductors.
The United Nations says up to 300 000 people have died and 2.7 million have fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in Darfur rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum in February 2003.
The government says 10 000 people have been killed.