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| Africa Horn |
| Somalia: Italian hostages 'are well', says foreign minister |
| 2008-05-23 |
| (AKI) - The two Italian aid workers taken hostage early on Tuesday in central Somalia "are well", Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said on Thursday. "We need to treat the information we have cautiously," said Frattini, adding that he could not reveal the Foreign Ministry's sources. "We do not want to do anything that could endanger our two compatriots." Gunmen seized Iolanda Occhipinti and Giuliano Paganini, as well as a Somali colleague, who were blindfolded and then taken from the village of Awdhegle, 70 kilometres south of the capital Mogadishu, to an unknown location. No group is known to have claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and no demands are known to have been made for the hostages' release. Kidnapping is a lucrative business in Somalia, and abductors generally treat their captives well in anticipation of a hefty ransom. Somali gunmen are still holding two aid workers, a Briton and a Kenyan, who were abducted in April. |
| Posted by:Fred |