Gunmen abduct Red Cross worker in West Darfur

October 22, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — A French aid worker of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been abducted today by unidentified armed men near the capital of western Darfur state.

Gauthier Lefevre, who was kidnapped around midday, was returning with other ICRC staff to El-Geneina after completing a field trip north of the capital of West Darfur to help local communities upgrade their water supply systems.

He was travelling in one of two clearly marked ICRC vehicles when he was seized a few kilometers from the town.

The Red Cross said ignoring the identity of the abductors and their motivations. However the charity requested the help of the Sudanese authorities “and other parties with the aim of resolving the situation as swiftly as possible.”

In Paris, the French foreign ministry confirmed the kidnapping and asked for an immediate and unconditioned release of the aid worker. It further said the French embassy in Sudan kept in close contact with ICRC.

Since the arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court against the Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir for war crimes last March, aid workers and peacekeepers face growing attacks and abduction.

Earlier this week two females aid workers were released by their kidnappers after more than three months and other tow UNAMID personnel are still under the hands of their abductors.

(St)