Kidnapped German Aid Workers Freed in Darfur

One of the two German aid workers who was kidnapped on June 22nd when gunmen swooped on their offices in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, is greeted at Khartoum airport after being freed earlier on July 27. (Ashraf Shazly/Getty Images)

Two German aid workers, who had been kidnapped five weeks ago from their compound in Nyala, Darfur, have been released.

The two men worked for Technisches Hilfswerk (THW), a German state-run development agency. On June 22, they were abducted from the THW office by seven men.

“I’m very happy and relieved over the release of the two THW staffers,” said Thomas Maizere, German Interior minister who oversees the agency, according to BBC News.

In recent years, several cases of kidnappings of foreign aid workers have taken place in Darfur. Since fighting began between rebels and government forces and allied Arab militiamen in 2003, an estimated 300,000 people have died and 3 million have been displaced in Darfur, according to the United Nations News Center.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s president, on charges of crimes against humanity and genocide.