Francesco Azzara, 34, was abducted Sunday as he was driving to the airport in Nyala, capital of South Darfur province, with two colleagues, Emergency said, calling on the kidnappers to release him immediately.
The vehicle was surrounded by armed men who ordered Azzara to get out, the charity said, adding that it had alerted all its contacts in Darfur and Khartoum and informed the Italian foreign ministry.
"We have been in touch with the authorities and opposition groups," Emergency founder Gino Strada said, adding that there had been no contact with the kidnappers.
Azzara is in charge of logistics at the paediatric centre opened in Nyala by Emergency in July 2010.
The foreign ministry said it was working with the United Nations mission in Darfur and local authorities to resolve the matter.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini told online Radio Baobab that there were indications but no claim of responsibility.
He said that the kidnapping of an aid worker employed "by an organisation at the service of the weakest" was "unexpected."
Emergency, which began operating in Sudan in 2004, has two child care centres in Nyala and the Majo refugee camp near Khartoum, and a heart clinic at Soba, 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Sudanese capital.
At least 300,000 people have been killed and 1.9 million people have fled their homes since the Darfur conflict erupted in 2003 between non-Arab rebels and the Arab-dominated Khartoum regime, the United Nations says.
Following a relative lull, there have been sporadic clashes since December between rebel groups and government forces that have forced more than 70,000 people to flee their homes.
Three Bulgarian helicopter pilots kidnapped in Darfur while working under a UN contract were freed in June after 145 days in captivity. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
