Gunmen kidnap German man in northern Somalia

[Jacaylbaro]

BOSASSO, Somalia, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped a German man and his local wife in northern Somalia on Saturday, a local official said.

 

"They were heading to visit his in-laws. They took them towards the hills to the east. We have sent many troops to save them," Muse Gelle Yusuf, governor of the northern port town of Bosasso, told Reuters.

 

Yusuf said the German had been in the town for several weeks, spending time with his wife's family. He did not name the man.

 

Yusub Mohamed, a relative of the abducted woman, saw the kidnappers stop their vehicle.

 

"They grabbed the German and his wife at gunpoint and drove them away," he said.

 

The kidnapping of foreigners and aid workers for ransom is common in lawless Somalia, where the Western-backed interim government is fighting Islamist insurgents.

 

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 $1 million had been paid.

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

Would you have reported this fast breaking if he was abducted in, say, Hargeysa?

 

Be honest, soonaa lagu jiraa, siiba tobankii beri u dambeeye.

[Jacaylbaro]

I always did sxb ...... waxba dhiiga ha isku karin. News is always news.

 

Ramadan baa lagu jiraa cuqdada iska saar ...

[Suldaanka]

Criminality is taking root among the common people. It is becoming more and more like Columbia which was famous for all sorts of criminal activities.

[Jacaylbaro]

Somali police free kidnapped German and local wife

 

 

BOSASSO, Somalia, Sept 22 (Reuters) - Somali police attacked a kidnappers' hideout before dawn on Monday to release a German man and his local wife, officials said.

 

The pair had been taken at gunpoint on Saturday and held in a hilly region east of Bosasso, the main port of the northern Somali region of Puntland. Police said one of the kidnappers was injured in gunfire during Monday's operation.

[Jacaylbaro]

BOSSASO, Somalia Sep 22 (Garowe Online) - An unidentified German male and his local wife were released early Monday morning in northern Somalia's Puntland region, Radio Garowe can confirm.

 

The couple were kidnapped Saturday in the port city of Bossaso by a gang, who soon took them to the outskirts of the town. [ Full story]

 

But traditional elders and the Somali wife's family took part in direct negotiations with the kidnappers, informed sources said.

 

Puntland police tightened security in and around town last night, as efforts intensified to free the hostages. Several of the kidnappers are now in police custody.

 

The couple is reported to be safe and will soon hold a press conference in Bossaso.

 

In recent months, foreigners have been kidnapped for ransom in Somalia by local gangs but this is the first time a foreigner with local family ties has been abducted.

[Abwaan]

Waa ka dareen burcad badeedkii haddana waxay isku bedeleen burcad dhuleed iyo kuwo masaajidda dadka ka imaaday afduubta. Oo haddii ayeeyadaa ajnabi ahayd khatar baaba ku jirtaa meesha. Waxay is dheheen million dollars madax furasho ah baad weydiisan kartaan wax Alla wixii ajnebi lugta la gala. Markaan waxaa ku xigta Soomaalida baasaboorrada shisheeye wata. Oo cadde tolow sidee yeeli?