France condemns kidnappings of humanitarian workers in Syria

France on Monday condemned the kidnapping over the weekend of seven humanitarian workers employed by the Red Cross and Red Crescent organisations and urged their immediate release. The humanitarian workers were kidnapped by armed groups in the northern Idlib province as they were taking essential supplies to the region. A statement from the French Foreign Ministry "demanded their immediate and unconditional release." France also called for "full respect for international humanitarian law by all parties in the conflict and that free, immediate and unconditional access, without obstacles, be guaranteed for all humanitarian entities." There are an estimated two million Syrian refugees who have fled the country to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, among other place, but there are around five million internally displaced Syrian refugees who have fled the fighting and are badly in need of humanitarian assistance.