Kampala — Gunmen holding a Ugandan woman hostage in Darfur have asked for money before she can be released, a senior Sudanese official said yesterday.

Mr Abdulrahim Siddig, the charge de affairs at the Sudanese Embassy in Kampala, said media reports in Khartoum indicated that the abductors were asking for an undisclosed amount of money as a ransom to free Ms Hilda Kawuki, 42, and her fellow aid worker, Irish national Ms Sharon Commins, 32.

News of the ransom demand came as diplomats involved in negotiations to secure release of the two hostages said yesterday that they were optimistic they could secure their release following "fruitful" discussions with authorities in Sudan.

Ms Betty Akech, Uganda's ambassador to Sudan, told Daily Monitor by phone from Khartoum that Ms Kawuki and Ms Commins are alive after being abducted on Friday. Negotiators were hoping to make direct contacts with the captors, Ms Akech said.

"The meeting was fruitful, meaning there is cooperation and good intention among all parties to work together to ensure that the two ladies are released safely," she said, referring to the initial interface between Irish/Ugandan delegations and political/security officials in Kutum, Darfur.

And she added: "These people were doing humanitarian work for the people of Darfur. They were not involved in any politics; we would like them to be released alive and as soon as possible."

The two hostages are employees of Irish aid organisation - GOAL, where Ms Kawuki works as a nutrition expert. Following a flurry of multi-country diplomatic engagements at the weekend, Uganda's 2nd Secretary at the Khartoum embassy, Mr James Wafula, joined the Irish delegation comprising the country's envoy to Egypt, Mr Gerry Corr, (who is also in charge of the Sudan portfolio) on the delicate errand to free the hostages.

Other delegates, who touched down in the volatile Darfur region yesterday, include Irish Aid Director General, Brendan Rogers and military officer, Lt. Col. Ollie Barbour. The team is expected to pitch camp there for as long as it takes to free the hostages.

State Minister for International Affairs Henry Okello Oryem yesterday held an emergency meeting with Mr Kevin Kelly, the Irish ambassador in Kampala, to work out common strategies to end the ordeal.

Mr Kelly told this paper last evening that he is working with various partners, among them Ugandan and Sudanese officials, to try and secure the two women's release.

The two women, together with their guard who has since been released, were kidnapped from GOAL premises in Sudan's western Darfur region, bloodied by fighting between pro-government militias and rebels since 2003.

Ambassador Kelly said every effort is being made and caution taken and "we are hoping that we will manage to secure release of the aid workers."

A distraught relative of Ms Kawuki, who declined to identify herself and signalled she had been overwhelmed by the disturbing news, said she was anxious about the fate of their family member. "I will only comment after hearing some good news from her employers," she said.