Kidnapped German citizen freed in northern Somalia
22/9/2008 16:38
A German citizen and his local wife who were kidnapped in northern Somalia
on Saturday have been released, a regional maritime official confirmed
today.
Andrew Mwangura, the East African Coordinator of the Seafarers
Assistance Program (SAP), said the couple were released early today but the two
Somali gunmen were seriously injured.
"The German hostage and his wife are
free but two out of the six Somali gunmen who kidnapped them have been seriously
injured and are in hospital," Mwangura told Xinhua by telephone.
The hostage
was heading to visit his in-laws when six armed gunmen took them towards the
hills to the east.
Reports said that the German, whom the Somali authorities
refused to identify, had been in the Bosasso town for several weeks, spending
time with his wife's family.
The kidnapping of foreigners and aid workers for
ransom is common in lawless Somalia, where there has not been an effective
central government since former dictator Siad Barre was overthrown in
1991.
Last month, pirates from the north of the Horn of Africa country freed
two German hostages who they had held hostage since June. A member of the gang
said a ransom of US$one million had been paid.
Xinhua
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