Aid workers seized in Mogadishu

Unidentified gunmen operating in the south of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, have kidnapped a French woman and a British subject employed by the NGO, Action contre la Faim (ACF), a spokeswoman for the agency told IRIN on Wednesday. The spokeswoman, Beatrice D’Ervau, said they were taken on the night of 25-26 July: “Action contre la Faim is doing everything possible to secure their release. It is asking those holding them to release the members of its team as soon as possible.”

Since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991, kidnapping and killings have been a constant danger in southern Somalia for local and expatriate humanitarian staff. Many kidnappings have stemmed from labour and pay disputes; others are outright extortions. The last high-profile kidnapping in Mogadishu was in April 1998 when militia held nine foreigners and a Somali national from the Red Cross/Red Crescent Society for ten days.