中非共和国两名法国工人遭劫持

Two French aid workers have been kidnapped in the Central African Republic, their employer says.

雇主称，两名法国救援人员在中非共和国被绑架。

They are said to have been taken by gunmen in the town of Birao, on the border with Chad（乍得） and Sudan.

The abductions（劫持，绑架） are the latest to hit aid agencies working in the region, with French workers taken in Chad this month and Sudan last month.

The French foreign ministry condemned "this latest criminal act" and demanded the release of the workers.

The ministry's crisis unit was in close contact with（紧密接触） the concerned parties, Reuters news agency reported.

The two men worked for the Triangle charity.

A local elder told AFP news agency the armed kidnappers, numbering about 20, fled to Sudan with their hostages, as well as three cars and a motorbike.

Temporary suspension

The International Red Cross temporarily suspended its operations in Chad after a French employee was abducted by armed men in eastern Chad on 9 November.

The employee, Laurent Maurice, remains missing.

Attacks against non-governmental organisations are frequent in eastern Chad.

The region is home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people（无家可归的人）, including many made homeless by conflicts in Sudan's western Darfur region and the Central African Republic.

Another Frenchman working for the ICRC, Gauthier Lefevre, was abducted in Darfur on 22 October. He is still being held.