Three aid workers kidnapped in Darfur-aid agency

KHARTOUM, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Three Sudanese working for an international aid agency have been kidnapped in rebel-held areas in Sudan’s troubled western Darfur region, where they were trying to drill water wells, the aid agency said in a statement.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) said the three workers were kidnapped in December in what was then rebel-held Labado. The government has since occupied Labado in the east of South Darfur state — the scene of fierce fighting at the end of last year.

“ADRA is appealing for the release of three agency workers that were abducted at gunpoint along with ADRA project vehicles … while travelling through the then rebel-controlled area of Labado,” said the statement, posted on ADRA’s Web site on Tuesday.

Aid agencies often try to secure the release of kidnapped staff using mediators and away from the media. The U.S.-based agency said that the workers had official permission to work in Darfur and that it had no information as to who had kidnapped them or where they were now.

“We are alarmed and deeply concerned for the safety of our workers,” said Byron Scheuneman, ADRA’s senior vice president said. “ADRA is not political; it provides aid where it’s needed the most.” ADRA has been working in Sudan for 25 years and in Darfur since June last year.

The United Nations and other aid agencies have criticised Darfur rebels for attacking aid convoys and kidnapping workers in the past. The rebel groups deny they are involved with any kidnappings or banditry.

The African Union, monitoring a shaky April 2004 ceasefire in the region, has expressed concern over the fragmentation of Darfur’s two main rebel groups. There are now four known armed factions in Darfur, with many rogue armed gangs also operating.

The two main rebel groups took up arms in early 2003 accusing Khartoum of neglect and of using Arab militias known as Janjaweed to loot and burn non-Arab villages.

Khartoum says it supported some militias to fight the rebels but denies any links to the Janjaweed, saying they are outlaws. The violence, which the United States calls genocide, has killed tens of thousands.

Five aid workers have been killed in Darfur since humanitarian operations began in earnest last May. Most of those kidnapped are released unharmed.