Aid staff kidnappers seek ransom

2009-07-09 19:05

Dublin - Sudan's ambassador to Britain and Ireland says his government has opened negotiations with Darfur bandits who are demanding a ransom for the release of two kidnapped aid workers from Ireland and Uganda.

The aid workers from the Irish organisation GOAL were abducted at gunpoint from their Darfur compound six days ago. Thursday's comments from the Sudanese government offer the first confirmation that authorities are talking to the kidnappers.

Ambassador Omer Mohamed Ahmed Siddig, who is visiting Dublin, says the kidnap victims have spoken to their governments and GOAL officials by cellphone. He describes the kidnappers as "a criminal gang" and says negotiators know their location and want to win the victims' release without paying a ransom.

- AP