KHARTOUM - Armed men seized two foreign civilians working for Darfur's peacekeeping force on Saturday, the first time the joint U.N./African Union mission has been targeted by kidnappers.

The Nigerian man and the Tanzanian woman were taken by raiders from their residence in the politically charged town of Zalingei in west Darfur early in the morning, peacekeeping and government officials told Reuters.

Armed groups have kidnapped three groups of foreign aid workers in Darfur since March, piling pressure on the strife-torn region's relief effort, already reeling from bandit attacks, car-jackings and government expulsions.

UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni said the kidnapping of UNAMID staff was a worrying development. "We are appealing to them to release the captives. We are here to help the people of Darfur," he said, adding the kidnappers had phoned the force soon after the
abduction saying they were ready to talk.

Mezni declined to give details of the kidnappers' demands but Sudanese State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Abdel Baqi al-Jailani told Reuters they were bandits.

The kidnapping happened two days after UNAMID's departing commander, Martin Luther Agwai, told reporters that Darfur suffered from banditry but was no longer in a state of war.