An Egyptian-born monk has been released, 40 days after he was abducted in Sudan’s embattled Darfur region, reports Fides.

Rev. Ghabrial al-Antony, a Coptic Orthodox monk working in Nyala, South Darfur, was kidnapped on 14 April by an armed group, not far from the refugee camp in Atash.

According to Coptic Church sources, the monk was released without ransom. Early reports spoke of demands for a ransom of five-million Sudanese pounds ($822,000).