Six French nationals arrested in Chad on suspicion of trying to abduct orphaned children are reported to be on a hunger strike.

The six, members of the French aid group Arche de Zoe (Zoe's Ark), started the hunger strike late on Friday, complaining their case was being neglected, a legal source said.

The six were arrested on Oct. 25 as they tried to leave the country with 103 children they identified as orphans from Sudan's war-torn Darfur province.

Authorities stopped the flight when the children said they were not orphans and lived in Chadian villages.

Stephanie Lefebvre, secretary-general of the group, has insisted the charity was acting out of compassion.

Earlier in the week, the government asked the families of the French charity workers to pay for their food in prison.

The French army, which has troops in the central African country, paid about $4,360 to feed the six from the time they were arrested until Saturday, French Defence Ministry spokesman Patrick Chanliau said.

The army sent the bill for their food to the French consulate in Chad, and the French Foreign Ministry then sent it on to the detained charity workers' families in France, Chanliau said.

With files from the Associated Press