The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says one of its aid workers abducted earlier this month in Sudan's Darfur region has been killed.
The 31-year-old Sudanese staff member had been abducted August 16 in the Jebel Marra mountains of North Darfur.
He and his colleagues were returning from a food distribution mission when a group of armed men stopped the convoy and forced the Sudanese staff member to drive one of two vehicles stolen in the incident.
A spokeswoman for the Khartoum office of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Jessica Barry, tells VOA the organization had searched intensely for the driver before confirming August 28 that he had been killed.
She describes the impact the death has had as the organization fully investigates the incident.
"Our activities there in that area were suspended when this incident happened, and for now they are still suspended," she said. "In general, we believe that we should try to keep working where we can. The humanitarian needs are big. We have the right to be doing humanitarian work and the civilian population has the right to be protected."
The area has become increasingly volatile in recent weeks. Aid workers report a sharp rise of violence against women in particular, and have warned that the humanitarian crisis is expected to worsen.
Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council has voted to create a U.N. peacekeeping force for Darfur, but he Sudanese government opposes the plan.