Laura Archer, front, a native of P.E.I. who is based in Montreal, is pictured in this undated photo in Sudan. The nurse is among four aid workers who were abducted in Darfur on Wednesday. (Doctors Without Borders/Canadian Press)

A Canadian nurse and three other aid workers with Doctors Without Borders have reportedly been freed by their kidnappers in Darfur, the agency said Friday.

The agency, known in French as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), issued a statement about the workers' release after receiving confirmation from the abductors and Sudanese authorities.

However, the agency has yet to make direct contact with the workers, including Laura Archer from Montreal, said spokeswoman Naomi Sutorius-Lavoie.

"We have not yet seen our colleagues, nor have we had the chance to speak with them since we heard that they were being released."

Families 'extremely relieved'

"They are being returned to us by the authorities — [but] we don't know how many hours that will take," she said, adding the families of the workers are "extremely relieved at this news."

The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs said it is seeking confirmation of the captives' release.

"Canadian officials are in close contact with Médecins Sans Frontières, the UN, and Sudanese officials," spokesman Daniel Barbarie said in an email, according to the Canadian Press. "We stand ready to provide consular assistance and support."

The Italian Foreign Ministry also confirmed the release of the four hostages: Archer, a native of P.E.I.; Mauro D'Ascanio, an Italian doctor; Raphael Meunier, a French co-ordinator; and a Sudanese staff member.

Initial reports said two Sudanese workers were among those kidnapped, but they had been released right away. On Friday, Doctors Without Borders said in fact, only one had been let go quickly.

All of the aid workers were abducted late Wednesday in a rural area about 200 kilometres west of the city of El Fasher.

It is believed to be the first abduction of westerners in the region.

Archer graduated from the University of Prince Edward Island in 2001 with an honours bachelor of science in nursing.

Experience in India changed her life

Her outlook on the world changed when she put her nursing skills to use in India after the tsunami in December 2004. That experience led her to Doctors Without Borders.

"Through this experience, the difference between being a tourist and a humanitarian became apparent to me — and I knew which I wanted to be," she wrote in a 2007 article for her alumni magazine.

"Working with Médecins Sans Frontières has proven to be the most difficult and rewarding experience of my life."

Earlier on Friday, a Sudanese Foreign Ministry official told Reuters the government had located the hostages and was negotiating with the kidnappers, but would divulge no further details.

Sudanese president wanted for war crimes

A pan-Arab paper on Friday reported kidnappers had demanded the suspension of the International Criminal Court's war crimes case against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The government denied the report.

The abductions came amid heightened tensions following the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for al-Bashir last week for war crimes in Darfur.

Sudan shut down 16 aid organizations after the ICC decision, accusing them of helping the international court in the Hague to build a case against al-Bashir. Aid groups deny the charge.

Doctors Without Borders said it is withdrawing all international staff and Sudanese staff not from Darfur from projects in the region in the wake of the abductions.

With files from the Canadian Press