NYALA, Sudan, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- An Italian volunteer working in Sudan was released four months after he was kidnapped in Darfur, Sudanese news agencies said Friday.
Francesco Azzara, 34, was abducted in August with two Sudanese aid workers.
The Sudan Media Center identified the person who had been freed only as "the Italian hostage," Italian news agency ANSA reported. But Paolo Lagana, mayor of Motta San Giovanni, Azzara's hometown, said the hostage's identity had been confirmed.
Azzara was in Darfur as a volunteer with Emergency, an Italian organization that provides medical care. He was working in a pediatric clinic in Nyala, the capital of Darfur.
Armed men abducted Azzara and two colleagues from their car at the Darfur airport. After the kidnapping, the Italian government asked news media for a blackout on the story.
