Four Malian Red Cross employees have been kidnapped in the country's restive centre, the organisation said Monday, while a local official said negotiations were underway for their release.The Red Cross briefly suspended operations in the northern city of Kidal following a burglary at its offices last month, and has suffered kidnappings of its staff in the past by jihadist groups.

"Colleagues of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Red Cross Mali were kidnapped in the Tenekou area, Mopti region, on Sunday May 14 around 7pm," a Red Cross Facebook post said. "They were conducting a survey of the humanitarian situation when unidentified and armed individuals said they had to come with them," it added.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017