The abductions occurred on Wednesday in Serif Umra, in north Darfur, just a week after the Sudanese government ordered the expulsion of 13 aid groups working in Darfur, including MSF's Dutch and French branches, following the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
The three are a Canadian nurse, an Italian doctor and a French coordinator who worked for the Belgian section of MSF. It was initially reported that five MSF staff were kidnapped, but two other personnel were of Sudanese origin and immediately released.
"MSF is currently working to get more information about the circumstances and the motives surrounding this abduction... At this stage MSF does not have any further information and is not in a position to make any further comments in order to try to safeguard the security of our colleagues," the organization said in a statement.
The International Criminal Court issued the arrest warrant for the Sudanese president last Wednesday. Sudan responded immediately by expelling international aid groups, accusing them of conspiring with the ICC and giving false testimony. The groups have denied the accusations.
The international president of MSF, Dr. Christophe Fournier, has condemned the expulsion move and called it "a dramatic turn of events that will have unprecedented consequences for the people of the region."
Russia along with China has expressed concern that the ICC's arrest warrant could undermine recent progress in international efforts to broker peace in Darfur and could spark a violence reaction.
The conflict in Darfur erupted in 2003 between two rebel groups in Darfur and the Sudanese central government. According to the UN, more than 300,000 people have been killed and around 2.7 million displaced in the ongoing conflict.
