Sudanese security forces were searching for kidnappers who took two foreign aid workers in the restive western Sudanese region of Darfur, a Sudanese official said on Saturday.

"The operation of searching for the kidnappers is going on, " Ismail Hussein Hashim, the acting governor of North Darfur State, told Xinhua in a telephone call, adding that the army troops in the area which the abduction had taken place were put on alert.

However, the Sudanese official noted that the fate of the kidnapped foreign aid workers and the identification of the kidnappers remained unknown.

It was speculated that the kidnappers and their hostages were heading for the area of Fatu Bruno in the west part of the North Darfur State, he said, adding that "this information was only speculation without confirmation."

Unknown armed persons on Friday broke into the office of an Irish humanitarian group in the Kutum area in north Darfur and kidnapped two aid workers, one Irish and other Ugandan, and their bodyguards. The bodyguards were released shortly after the abduction.

Source: Xinhua