ICRC workers kidnapped in Mali

Two workers with the International Committee of the Red Cross were kidnapped on March 4 in Mali, the organization's Mali branch said on Twitter, VOA News informs.

"We confirm the kidnapping of two of our colleagues this morning between Gao and Kidal," it said, adding that the agency had been present in Mali for 32 years, and was "a neutral, independent and impartial organization."

"We ask not to speculate on this incident so as not to hinder its resolution," it added.

Aminata Alassane, a public relations officer with ICRC Mali, confirmed the kidnapping to AFP, saying it had taken place on the road between Gao and Kidal.

"The ICRC deplores (the incident) and demands the release of its collaborators," she said.

Since 2012, Mali has been in the grip of a security crisis. Violence, including kidnappings of foreigners and Malians, is common, the motives ranging from ransom demands to acts of reprisal.

In February, a World Health Organization doctor who had been abducted in Mali in late January was freed.

In May, armed men kidnapped three Italians and a Togolese national in southeastern Mali.

Mali is in the throes of an 11-year-old security crisis triggered by a regional revolt in the north that developed into a full-blown jihadi insurgency.