Three foreign aid workers with the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur region have been released and are safe, Reuters cited a Sudanese government official as saying today. The abductions came at a time of rising tension in Sudan, following the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to face charges of orchestrating war crimes in Darfur. "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." Ahmed said the three were freed around noon (0900 GMT). At least one Sudanese national had been released earlier, he said, without immediately giving further details. A U.N. source said the freed aid workers arrived in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, shortly after 6 p.m. (1500 GMT) and were due to fly to Khartoum later in the evening.
