A SENIOR government minister in Sudan yesterday said he hoped kidnapped aid worker Sharon Commins and her Ugandan colleague will be released “in a few days’ time”.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon today vowed no effort would be spared in finding an Irish aid worker and her colleague taken hostage in war-torn Sudan.

Two main rebel groups in Sudan’s conflict-ridden Darfur region signed a declaration yesterday pledging to adhere to a ceasefire and help facilitate the flow of humanitarian relief aid.