BREAKING NEWS

Two International Red Cross workers kidnapped in Mali

Two workers for the International Committee of the Red Cross have been kidnapped in northern Mali, the ICRC in Mali said on Twitter on Saturday.

It said the abductions took place between the northern cities of Gao and Kidal - long a hotspot for jihadist and militia violence.

"We confirm the kidnapping of two of our colleagues this morning ... We ask for no speculation about the incident so as not to hinder its resolution," the ICRC in Mali said.

It did not disclose the names or nationalities of those kidnapped.

Mali has faced instability since 2012 when Islamists hijacked an ethnic Tuareg rebellion in the north. Since then they have spread across West Africa's Sahel, killing thousands and displacing more than 2 million people in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.