[Al Arabiya Latest] French aid worker Gauthier Lefevre from the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) was kidnapped in Darfur on Thursday, the organization said in a statement.The ICRC currently has no indication of who the abductors might be or of their motives, the statement said.
The abduction comes just days after an Irish and Ugandan aid worker from the agency Goal were released after more than 100 days in captivity in Sudan's troubled Darfur region.
Darfur has seen a wave of kidnappings this year, mostly from young armed men demanding ransom money. Two U.N.-African Union peacekeepers are still in captivity.
Aid agencies say they have faced increased hostility in Darfur since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in March.
The United Nations estimates some 300,000 have died since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in 2003 accusing central government of neglect. The brutal counter-insurgency campaign drove more than 2 million people from their homes.
Heavy fighting has dwindled but sporadic clashes continue and the spread of arms has led to the collapse of law and order in the huge region.
"The ICRC is calling for the rapid and unconditional release of its kidnapped staff member," the statement added.
Lefevre was kidnapped at 12 p.m. (0900 GMT) north of the West Darfur town of el-Geneina, near the border with Chad by unknown armed men.
ICRC said he was travelling in one of two clearly marked vehicles from the organization.