Sharon Commins, who was kidnapped on Friday night near Darfur, Sudan. Suspicion has turned to the Janjaweed, a nomadic Arabic-speaking tribe who have affiliations with the current Sudanese government, led by President Omar al-Bashir, above left in blue

THE United Nations and Irish aid agency Goal are still trying to establish which of the many Darfur rebel groups is behind the kidnap of 32-year-old Irish aid worker Sharon Commins in Sudan.

Cummins, her Ugandan colleague Hilda Kawuki, and a security guard were abducted by six armed men from a Goal-run compound in Kutum, near Darfur, on Friday night. The incident occurred at 8.30pm local time and the security guard was later released unharmed.

Goal founder and CEO John O'Shea, said: "We have no idea who they represent, what their motives are or what their requirements are. We are in the dark over who kidnapped them."

The Sunday Tribune understands that the UN has been given confirmation from reliable sources that the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), which was initially thought to be responsible, is not involved in the kidnapping. Attention has now turned to another group, the Janjaweed, a nomadic Arabic-speaking tribe which has affiliations with the current Sudanese government.

There have been a number of kidnappings since an International Criminal Court warrant was placed on Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir last March, but all those abducted have been released without harm.

The last kidnapping of foreign aid workers in Sudan took place around three months ago when three Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) workers were taken hostage for six days but released safely and unharmed. Two workers from another aid agency, the International Medical Corps (IMC), were also held hostage for 26 days and they too were also released unharmed.

A spokesman for the department of Foreign Affairs said, "We are offering consular assistance to the family and the Irish ambassador in Cairo is on his way to the region." He was expected to arrive there late last night.

President Mary McAleese expressed her concerns about the kidnap and Dr Michael Woods, chair of the Oireachtas foreign affairs committee, has pledged to raise the issue with the Sudanese ambassador to Ireland and the UK, Omer Siddigi, when he appears before the committee on Wednesday.

A distressed Agatha Cummins, Sharon's mother, said: "I am so worried for her. I just want her to be released by whoever is holding her."

After completing a degree in communications in Dublin Institute of Technology and a Masters in International Relations in DCU, Cummins from Clontarf in Dublin worked directly with O'Shea in Goal headquarters in Dun Laoighaire for two years.

She later worked in Sri Lanka and then went to Sudan.

After working in Khartoum for a period, she was sent to Darfur where she has been for the last 18 months.