“I AM very, very relieved to be free and just coming to terms with that now and just very, very excited now that the 107 days are over.”

SHARON COMMINS arrived home to an emotional family reunion last night following her 107-day ordeal at the hands of Sudanese kidnappers.

Aid worker Sharon Commins was returning home today, following more than three months of captivity in war-torn Sudan.

The mother of freed aid worker Sharon Commins today said she could not wait to hold her daughter in her arms again.

Aid worker Sharon Commins and her Ugandan colleague kidnapped in war-torn Sudan more than three months ago have been freed, the Government revealed today.

THE Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that Minister Micheál Martin flew to Khartoum last night to meet Sudanese officials as part of ongoing efforts to free kidnapped Irish aid worker Sharon Commins.

AT the start of every day in the close-knit community of Clontarf, families come together to offer prayers for the safe release of kidnapped aid worker, Sharon Commins.

Aid agency GOAL has said efforts to secure the release of Sharon Commins are intensifying.

THE Sudanese government still expects the imminent release of aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki despite a ransom demand of US$2 million (about €1.43m) from the gang holding the women captive.

HOPES were high last night for the release of a young Irish aid worker and her Ugandan colleague after it was confirmed Irish Government officials were in direct negotiations with their kidnappers.

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”.

An Irish aid worker and her colleague being held hostage by an armed gang in Darfur have made contact with their agency’s office, a senior Sudanese official said today.

THE parents of missing Irish aid worker Sharon Commins are to meet the Sudanese Ambassador to Ireland tomorrow after he said the net was tightening on the gang who kidnapped her.

Sudanese authorities hunting a kidnapped Irish aid worker and her colleague have narrowed down the search area, it was confirmed tonight.

Foreign diplomats who have worked on hostage situations have offered the Government advice and support in finding an Irish aid worker and her colleague abducted in Sudan.

THE Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday cooled speculation that the kidnappers who abducted an Irish aid worker and her Ugandan colleague at gunpoint last Friday may be seeking a ransom.

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.

A high-level team of diplomats and negotiators will today continue efforts to locate an Irish aid worker and her colleague who have been kidnapped in war-torn Sudan.

EFFORTS to free kidnapped aid worker Sharon Commins intensified last night amid growing uncertainty about those responsible for the abduction.

Hostage negotiators were today trying to make contact with armed kidnappers who abducted an Irish aid worker and her colleague in war-torn Sudan.

The head of the charity whose aid workers were kidnapped in Darfur tonight appealed for their safe return.

Ireland’s ambassador in Cairo is on his way to Khartoum to help free two aid workers kidnapped in Darfur, officials confirmed today.

The President Mary McAleese has expressed deep concern for a 32-year-old aid worker from Dublin who has been kidnapped in Sudan.

A 32-year-old Dublin woman is one of two aid workers kidnapped in Sudan.

POLICE units in Sudan are searching for an Irish woman who was kidnapped at gunpoint while working for an aid agency.

Sudanese troops barred the UN humanitarian chief from visiting Darfur’s most violence-plagued refugee camp today during his first trip to the war-torn region.

Irish aid agency GOAL has withdrawn all of its international staff from Darfur as the security situation continues to deteriorate.

Recent fighting in Darfur has killed more than 60 people as armed factions battle over territory ahead of a planned disarmament, African and UN officials have said.

CORK-BASED nurse Niamh Casey recognises that she has been given a unique opportunity to make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable people in Darfur, western Sudan.