French Journalist Kidnapped in Puntland

[Jacaylbaro]

Armed men have kidnapped a French journalist in northern Somalia, sources say.

 

The journalist was abducted near Bosasso, in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region, at around 11am local time (0800 GMT) on Sunday, sources told AFP news agency.

 

The journalist's driver told Reuters news agency that three men with AK-47s had pulled the car over and demanded a ransom of $70,000.

 

He said the journalist had contacted the armed group about a story on Somali migrants being smuggled to Yemen - but the group reneged on the deal.

 

The identity of the reporter and the organisation who employed the journalist were not released.

 

French authorities are in touch with "those who seem to be the kidnappers", Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, told French television.

 

"I hope that the contact will not be lost and I hope that it only concerns a demand for ransom," he said.

 

 

 

Perilous journey

 

Bossasso is the economic capital of Puntland and faces Yemen, across the Gulf of Aden, where many African illegal immigrants attempt the perilous journey in a bid to reach wealthy Arab nations.

 

However, some 300 people have died and a further 300 were reported missing last year, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

 

The Puntland region, although relatively free of the violence that has plagued the rest of the country, has become increasingly associated with kidnappings and piracy.

[Jacaylbaro]

CHRONOLOGY-Attacks on journalists in Somalia

 

 

2006:

 

June 23 - Gunman shoots dead Swedish television cameraman Martin Adler covering a pro-Islamist demonstration in Mogadishu.

 

Aug 4 - Vehicle carrying members of the National Union of Somali Journalists is ambushed between Baidoa and Mogadishu. The driver Madey Garas is killed and a journalist injured.

 

 

2007:

 

Feb 16 - Ali Mohammed Omar, a presenter on Radio Warsan in Baidoa, is shot dead by three assailants as he walked home.

 

May 5 - Mohammed Abdullahi Khalif, a contributor to private radio station Voice of Peace, is killed in Puntland.

 

May 15 - Abshir Ali Gabra, a journalist with the independent radio station Radio Jowhar, and Ahmed Hassen, a correspondent with the independent broadcaster, Somalia Broadcasting Corporation are killed in the central Shabelle region.

 

Aug 11 - Gunmen shoot dead Somali HornAfrik radio journalist and talk show host Mahad Ahmed Elmi outside his station in Mogadishu.

 

Aug 11 - HornAfrik media co-founder Ali Iman Sharmarke is killed by a landmine while travelling in Mogadishu after the funeral of a murdered colleague. Reuters journalist Sahal Abdulle is injured.

 

Aug 24 - Abdulkadir Mahad Moallim Kaskey of local Radio Banadir is killed after attackers open fire on a minibus in southwestern Gedo province. Another passenger is hurt.

 

Oct 19 - Acting chairman of Radio Shabelle, Bashir Nur Gedi, is shot dead by unknown men in his house in Mogadishu.

 

Dec 16 - Gunmen seize French journalist Gwen Le Gouil of TV company Cargocult Production.

[Jacaylbaro]

Negotiations start for French reporter in Somalia

 

 

BOSASSO, Somalia, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Somali authorities started negotiating on Monday with the kidnappers of a French cameraman seized in one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.

 

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) condemned the kidnapping of Gwen Le Gouil in Somalia's northern Puntland region on Sunday, saying it underscored the precarious nature of journalism there.

 

Eight local journalists have been killed in the Horn of Africa nation this year alone, making it the most dangerous country in the world for reporters after Iraq, RSF said.

 

"The security committee and clan elders are engaged in dialogue with the kidnappers, and we are very optimistic that the French journalist will be released as soon as possible," Deputy Bari region governor Yusuf Mumin Bidde told reporters. Bidde said the Puntland administration would not allow the kidnappers to extort a ransom.

 

"We don't know exactly how much they are asking. The first demand was $70,000, then sometimes it's $35,000," said Jean Laurent, a colleague of Le Gouil's in Nairobi from their small TV company Cargocult Production.

 

The identity of the group holding him was unknown.

 

Somali kidnappers are known to treat their captives well and almost never kill them, viewing them as an investment on which they expect a return in the form of ransom.

 

Many foreigners in Somalia run foul of local clans by failing to seek permission to travel through their territories.

 

French diplomats in the region had no comment.

 

SHOTS FIRED

 

Laurent confirmed Le Gouil was in Somalia working on a piece for the Franco-German TV network Arte Television, that NUSOJ said was about human trafficking of African migrants to Saudi Arabia through Yemen.

 

"We denounce this kidnapping of ... Le Gouil, and we demand his immediate and unconditional release," Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ secretary general, said in the statement.

 

On Sunday night, the kidnappers fired at Puntland troops who tried to secure Le Gouil's release, Osman said.

 

He urged Puntland authorities to work for "a peaceful release...and not to use any force that can risk the life of Gwen Le Gouil."

 

Known for its relative stability in a country plagued by lawlessness, semi-autonomous Puntland has become increasingly associated with kidnappings, hijackings and piracy.

 

In May, two foreign aid workers were seized and later released after negotiations between their captors and clan elders, while in October gunmen hijacked a cargo plane carrying khat, a lucrative narcotic leaf.

 

Elsewhere in Somalia, three people died in Mogadishu's main market, Bakara, when government troops and their Ethiopian allies clashed with insurgents, residents said.

 

Rebels attacked government positions in north Mogadishu, sparking heavy artillery exchanges. Bakara is thought to be a rebel stronghold and is often the site of fierce clashes.

[Jacaylbaro]

French journalist held in Somalia said to be "fine"

 

 

BOSASSO, Somalia, Dec 18 (Reuters) - A Somali clan elder said on Tuesday he had seen a French journalist kidnapped by gunmen since the weekend and he was in a "fine" condition.

 

But the local elder, who is related to the kidnappers, also told Reuters the group was demanding an $80,000 ransom for the release of Gwen Le Gouil in northern Puntland region.

 

"We saw the French journalist. He is fine. We tried to convince the abductors to release the journalist, but they refused and demanded $80,000," Abdulqadir Ahmed said.

 

"We are going to negotiate with them again today."

 

Le Gouil, who was seized on Sunday, is being held in the mountainous village of Mareero, 30 km (19 miles) east of Puntland's Bosasso port, locals say.

 

Somali kidnappers are known to treat their captives well and almost never kill them, viewing them as an investment on which they expect a return in the form of ransom.

 

Many foreigners in Somalia run foul of local clans by failing to seek permission to travel through their territories.

 

A colleague of Le Gouil in a TV company, Cargocult Production, said he had no fresh information on Tuesday.

 

"But I am hopeful we might get some good news of his release today. Negotiations are continuing," said Jean Laurent, who is tracking his colleague's case from Nairobi.

 

French diplomats in the region had no comment.

 

Le Gouil was in the semi-autonomous region of north Somalia working on a piece for the Franco-German TV network Arte Television about human trafficking of African migrants to Saudi Arabia through Yemen.

 

Media groups have denounced the kidnapping in a nation where eight local journalists have died this year covering a conflict between the Ethiopian-backed government and Islamist-led rebels.

 

Known for its relative stability compared to chaotic south Somalia, Puntland has, however, become increasingly associated with kidnappings, hijackings and piracy.

 

In May, two foreign aid workers were seized and later released after negotiations between their captors and clan elders, while in October gunmen hijacked a cargo plane carrying khat, a lucrative narcotic leaf.