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)

4 Forum messages

Gunmen abduct Red Cross worker in West Darfur 23 October 2009 05:21, by Time1

Let him learn his lessons and taste the bitter pills first then he will be rescued laters.hahaha

Gunmen abduct Red Cross worker in West Darfur 23 October 2009 07:43, by darfurdaniel

Yes stupid ICRC actually trying to help. Taste his pills? You must be rferring tp maybe the millions of pills that ICRC has given in health clinics throughout Darfur so that your females can continue to fertilize this wonderful place with more problem children. He could be rescued quite easily as all it would take is a 2nd world Countries military to send a platoon of infantry into Darfur which would scare the hell out of your 3rd world military (military is a very sketchy description of the sad looking, ill trained well armed gangsters driving around in stolen UN and NGO trucks). Anyone that critcises UN or Humanitarians when kidnapped by Darfurian thugs really needs to get an education. You obviously need to go back and finish elementary school and then retype your message (or have your freind that typed this one correct the gross errors). Sad, sad and sad.
- Gunmen abduct Red Cross worker in West Darfur 23 October 2009 17:28, by Time1
  
  you see daniel you need more education yourself
  
  There are some of this so called aid workers, they come to Sudan thinking they are here on holidays, they drive comfortable air condition vehicles and live in big houses something they do not dreams of in their western countries as i am someone who lived in west for many years myself and knows the truth. Now this aid workers which you might be one of them, they always want to enjoy live on the expenses of the displaced or poor population by claiming to be helping with aid work, they only enjoy the comforts and write news articles from their comfortable office of the NGO without knowing what is going on the ground, so this man let him be taken out there to see what it is like on the ground in Darfur so next time he can write the real news not to write on internet imaginations from his aid work office. Let him rescue himself now since he has experience in rescue.