World

Confirmed: Darfur aid workers have been released in the Sudan

by Amy Judd | March 14, 2009 at 07:41 am

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It has now been confirmed that the three aid workers in Darfur have officially been released despite reports that they were released yesterday, they were actually still being held. The fourth had actually been released slightly before that.

"It is confirmed," Ali Youssef Ahmed, head of protocol at the foreign ministry, told Reuters. "They have been released. They are safe. They are all right. They are still in Darfur but will be transferred to Khartoum."

Previous coverage:

The four aid workers that were reported to have been released yesterday after being kidnapped in Darfur, are apparently still being held hostage and were not released at all. The four workers are with Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) and a Sudanese Foreign Mininstry official said that they have not been released yet, depsite the Italian Foreign Ministry confirming that they had been.

"I can assure you that they are well, everybody is safe and sound. We're expecting their release in the next few hours."

An MSF spokesperson said that they cannot confirm the release yet, only the possible release. They have not however heard from their colleagues since they heard of a possible release.

It is believed that they were kidnapped because of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.
The country responded by ordering all aid agencies to leave the region accusing them of helping the ICC to provide information to The Hague, where war crimes are tried.