El Fasher, 14 March 2009-- The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has welcomed tonight’s safe release of four staff members with the non-governmental organization (NGO) Médecins Sans Frontières-Belgium, three days after they were abducted by gunmen in North Darfur.

The staff members – three internationals and one Sudanese national – arrived by Government helicopter at El Fasher Airport about 6.30pm, where they were greeted by local officials and MSF colleagues. The four appeared to be in good condition, and the three international staff are now flying to Khartoum.

One of the staff members released, Italian doctor Mauro d’Ascanio, said he was fine and looking forward to speaking with his family. The other staff have been named as Laura Archer, a nurse from Canada; Raphaël Meunier, a French coordinator; and Sharif Mohamadin, a Sudanese watchman.

The AU-UN Joint Special Representative, Mr. Rodolphe Adada, hailed the news of the release.

“We are very happy. This is a very good thing – we were really concerned about this,” Mr. Adada said.

Sylvain Groulx, a spokesperson for MSF-Spain, said he and his colleagues were thrilled. “We are extremely happy about their release and that they have come back safely,” Mr. Groulx said.

The Wali (Governor) of North Darfur state, Mohammed Osman Kibir, said he personally conducted negotiations by telephone with the gunmen who had abducted the aid workers, speaking to them on four occasions. He flew with a Government team this afternoon to pick up the aid workers.

He said the identity of the gunmen remains unclear, but they told him they had acted in response to this month’s decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on war crimes charges.

Mr. Kibir said he convinced the gunmen that abducting the aid workers reflected badly on Sudan and it would be in the best interests of the country and its people to release them. He said no ransom was paid by either the Government or MSF.

The Wali also said that the Government would be stepping up security measures to ensure the safety and security of aid workers and other international staff operating in Darfur.

The five MSF-Belgium staff members were taken at gunpoint from their office in the North Darfur town of Saraf Omra – which lies about 230 kilometres west of El Fasher – on Wednesday night. One of the five people abducted, a Sudanese national, had been freed earlier.
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