FRENCH charity Zoe's Ark (L'Arche de Zoe) said it intended to help the children, not abduct them, and that it acted legally.

The group was created by a group of French motoring enthusiasts in the wake of the tsunami that devastated parts of Asia on Dec26, 2004. They set up camps in Banda Aceh in Indonesia.

It has around 50 active volunteers.

In April, Zoe's Ark announced a campaign to evacuate 10,000 orphans from Sudan's Darfur region alongside other French charities.

It said it wanted to place orphaned Darfuri children aged under five in foster care with French families, saying it had a right to do so under international law.

General secretary Stephanie Lefebvre says the organisation never aimed to have the children in its care adopted, and simply wanted to save them from starvation.

A seven-strong team, which included a doctor, a nurse and firefighters, was based in Chad.

Ms Lefebvre said the group sought authorisation from the French authorities to grant safe passage to the children it intended to bring back to France, so Zoe's Ark could seek the right of asylum for them.

France's Foreign Ministry had issued a warning about Zoe's Ark in August, saying there was no guarantee the children were helpless orphans and casting doubt on the project's legality.

REUTERS