Red Cross worker Donal O Suilleabhain was released after being held hostage for five days. The 41-year-old Sligoman was abducted, along with six other aid workers, by an armed group in the southern town of Gode at 10am on Monday. Five of the seven were released on the same day but the armed men held O Suilleabhain and an Ethiopian colleague.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern yesterday welcomed O Suilleabhain's release and thanked his officials and the Red Cross for their efforts in securing the release. Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs had "worked tirelessly behind the scenes" in order to secure O Suilleabhain's release, he said.

Experienced negotiators from the Department of Foreign Affairs had travelled to Ethiopia in order to work with Irish officials in the African country. Irish officials, working closely with the Red Cross, managed to make contact with the armed group in order to open negotiations.