Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Somali gunmen kidnapped three aid workers working for Danish Demining Group in northern Somalia. (Reuters)
“Today, at 3 p.m. (1200 GMT) in Somalia, three staff members from the Danish Demining Group have been kidnapped. One is a Somali man, two are international staff members, an American woman and a Danish man,” it said in a statement.
“We have reports that two foreign aid workers from DDG were kidnapped from near the airport at Galkayo by gunmen. We are following up to get further details,” Ali Mohamed, a Somali security official confirmed.
DDG clears landmines and other unexploded ordnance in the area to open up the use of land. It also provides mine risk education to reduce injuries, and has been present in the region since 2007.
Abshir Diini Awale, minister of the interior and national security in Galmudug, said the aid workers were seized shortly after arriving at Galkayo airport.
“We don't know who kidnapped them but we have alerted our security forces to track down the hostages,” he said.
Somalia is one of the world’s most dangerous regions for aid workers, several of whom have been kidnapped in the past by ransom-seeking militia groups.
It is also home to a number of pirate gangs who earn a living by seizing boats, but who have recently been accused of capturing hostages on land as well.
A lack of effective central government since Somalia plunged into civil war two decades ago has allowed a flourishing of militias, Islamist insurgencies and pirate gangs ruling mini-fiefdoms.
Both Galmudug and Puntland signed a nation-building roadmap last month with the weak Western-backed government in Mogadishu and oppose the Islamist al-Shabaab insurgents who control Somali regions further south.
Four European women have been abducted in recent weeks from Kenya by gunmen who later fled to Somalia.
Somali gunmen kidnapped two Spanish staff working for Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) from the Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya on October 13.
A British tourist was kidnapped from Kenya’s coastal areas last month, followed shortly afterward by a Frenchwoman, who later died in captivity.
Kenya sent troops and tanks into southern Somalia last week to fight the Shabaab, whom it blames for the spate of kidnappings of foreigners, but the rebels have denied being behind the seizures.
The hardline insurgents have vowed to retaliate against the attacks, and Kenyan police say they suspect two grenade attacks Monday in Nairobi could be linked to Shabaab operatives.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetang’ula repeated Tuesday his country’s determination to protect its borders through its military assault in Somalia.
“Kenya cannot watch unwarranted kidnaps of its tourists (and) aid workers and violation of territorial integrity,” he said in a statement.
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