ICRC worried about health condition of members kidnapped in Philippines

MANILA, Feb. 26 -- The Geneva-based International Committee of the

Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday they are worried about the health condition of

their aid workers held hostage by kidnappers in the restive southern

Philippines.

Swiss Andreas Notter, Italian Eugenio Vagni and Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba

were seized by gunmen on Jan. 15 after they inspected a water and sanitation

project at the provincial jail in Patikul, Sulu Province. Abu Sayyaf, a rebel

group notorious for a series of kidnappings, have claimed that they were holding

captive the three Red Cross workers.

"The three of them made contact with the ICRC and their families a week

ago. Since then, we have not had any direct contact with them," said Alain

Aeschlimann, ICRC's head of operations for East Asia, South-East Asia and the

Pacific.

Local media reported that two of the ICRC members, Vagni and Lacaba, have

some health problems weeks after they were kidnapped.

"It's hard to confirm what is being reported by the media, but we are

concerned about their health and about the fatigue and stress they are

suffering," Aeschlimann said in a statement.

"It is very difficult to know precisely where they are. There is a lot of

speculation about that. All we can say at this stage is that we know they have

been on the move over recent days and that they have had to walk in very

difficult conditions, through the jungle and often in the rain. All of this has

apparently weakened them," he added.

The ICRC Official, who recently visited the family of Lacaba in the

southern City of Davao, appealed to the abductors' sense of humanity as he

reiterated their call for the swift and unconditional release of their

colleagues.

"Meeting the families was very moving for me. They are suffering horribly

and my heart goes out to them. Having a child myself, I was particularly touched

to see the children of our colleagues asking about their abducted parents. One

child is my son's age and can hardly sleep," said Aeschlimann.

"My colleagues and I did our best to comfort the families, and we're doing

everything we can to give them the support they need. We hope that this crisis

will be over soon and that Mary Jean, Andreas and Eugenio will be able to return

home safe and sound," he added.

Aside from the three ICRC workers, Abu Sayyaf is also holding Umar Jaleel,

a Sri Lankan national in Basilan Island.

The Abu Sayyaf is a rebel group with more than 300 members blamed for a

series of kidnappings and terror attacks in the Southeast Asian country,

including the bombing of a ferry near Manila Bay in 2004 that killed more than

100 people.