GOAL worker faces 100th day in captivity

It has been 100 days since the Irish aid-worker Sharon Commins was kidnapped in Sudan.

The 33-year-old from Dublin was abducted at gunpoint from a GOAL compound in Darfur along with her Ugandan colleague, 42-year-old Hilda Kawuki on July 3.

Last July, Sharon Commins, who is from Clontarf in Dublin, was taken at gunpoint by a gang of men from the GOAL compound in Darfur in Sudan.

The 33-year-old had been working with the charity for four years.

Her Ugandan colleague 42-year-old Hilda Kawuki was also kidnapped.

The Sudanese government has assured the Irish Government that they are doing all they can to secure the women's release.

Officials say they have a line of communication with the abductors but negotiations have been marred by reported ransom demands from the gang.

Last month, the Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin travelled to Sudan in a bid to intensify efforts to free the two women.

Shortly afterwards, Sharon's captors allowed her to phone her parents in Dublin.