Released aid workers “weary”

The release of two aid workers held hostage by militiamen in Mogadishu for more than eight weeks was welcomed by French and British government representatives. French Cooperation Minister Charles Josselin said he welcomed the release of the two aid workers, one of whom is a French national, Francoise Deutsch, an administrator for the Paris-based NGO, Action contre la faim (ACF). British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook also welcomed the release of the ACF workers, the other of whom is a British logistician, Jonathan Ward.

A convoy of jeeps mounted with anti-aircraft guns escorted Deutsch and Cook to Aidaley airstrip, north Mogadishu, where they boarded a special European Union flight, AP reported. They were also escorted by workers from the German aid agency, Bread for the World, and EU officials, AFP reported. Ward told journalists they had been held together in a “tiny room” in a heavily fortified building in south Mogadishu, and had been “treated well”. Deutsch, reported as looking tired, said her biggest worry had been the absence of news during their captivity. Both aid workers wore traditional Somali clothes, news agencies reported.

A local Somali radio station said the release of the hostages followed mediation by a German aid agency and members of the Somali business community. The two aid workers looked weary and told local journalists they were well fed, but kept isolated from the outside world, Radio Banaadir said on Monday in a report monitored by the BBC. Other media reports say a payment by the Somali business community may have been as much as US $80,000.