Red Cross: Staffer Kidnapped in Darfur in Good Health

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the kidnappers of a staffer who was seized in Sudan's Darfur region claim he is in good health.

A Red Cross official told reporters in Khartoum Saturday the agency made contact with the abductors on Friday.

Spokeswoman Tamara al-Rifai said the kidnappers did not allow agency officials to speak to Gauthier Lefevre and did not demand a ransom or make any specific requests.

Lefevre, a French national, was traveling in one of two clearly marked Red Cross vehicles when he was abducted Thursday near the town of Al Geneina in West Darfur.

Foreign aid groups have faced increased hostility in Darfur since the International Criminal Court indicted Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir in March for alleged war crimes.

The Red Cross says Lefevre was taken captive after he and another Red Cross staffer had just completed a trip to help local communities upgrade their water systems.

Two workers for the Irish aid group GOAL were kidnapped in July and spent three months in captivity before being released October 18.

Two civilian employees of the joint United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur remain captive after being kidnapped in August.


Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.