Kidnapped Bulgarians freed in Sudan

The three airmen were abducted in Darfur by armed men at a landing strip on January 13.Three men abducted on January 13 in Dafur have been freedThe captives were Bulgarian airmen working for the UN World Food ProgrammeThe World Food Programme regional director thanked the Sudanese government for its help

(CNN) -- Three Bulgarian airmen kidnapped in Sudan nearly five months ago have been freed, and appear to be in good health, the United Nations World Food Programme said in a news release Monday.

WFP Regional Director Amer Daoudi thanked the government of Sudan "for its tireless efforts in securing the release of the three men who... were working to help the most vulnerable people in Darfur," a region of Sudan blighted by civil war since 2003.

The WFP said it did not pay any ransom.

The three men were working for WFP's United Nations Humanitarian Air Service in Darfur when they were abducted by armed men at a landing strip on January 13.

The former captives will be flown to Khartoum, then back home to Bulgaria, the WFP said.

CNN