Gunmen kidnap American in north Somalia

[Jacaylbaro]

MOGADISHU: Gunmen kidnapped an American man in the northern Somali town of Galkayo on Saturday, officials said.

 

The gunmen surrounded the man's car shortly after the man left the airport, said policeman Abdi Hassan Nur, who witnessed the incident. He said they then forced the American into another vehicle.

 

Galkayo is on the border between the semiautonomous northern region of Puntland and a region known as Galmudug. It is ruled by forces friendly to the U.N.-backed Somali government.

 

A minister from the Galmudug administration said the kidnapped man is an American engineer who came to Somalia to carry out an evaluation for building a deep water port in the town of Hobyo. The gunmen severely beat the foreigner's Somali companion when he begged them not to take the man, said the minister.

 

The minister spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

 

A staff member at the Embassy Hotel, where the man was staying, said the American had gone to the airport to drop off an Indian colleague. The hotel said that the man had both American and German citizenship. The staff member asked not to be identified because he was not supposed to give out information about guests.

 

In October, gunmen kidnapped an American woman and a Danish man working for the Danish Demining Group from the same town. They are still being held.

 

Kidnapping for ransom is has become increasingly common in Somalia over the past five years. Currently at least four aid workers, a French military official, a British tourist taken from Kenya and hundreds of sailors are being held captive.

[Jacaylbaro]

Source

[Somalina]

lol@North Somalia.

[NASSIR]

^In other words, Puntland.

 

JB, Is the kidnapped originally from Somalia?

[Jacaylbaro]

MOGADISHU — A foreigner has been kidnapped in a semi-autonomous province of central Somalia, a local official said Saturday.

 

"We have reports that a foreigner has been abducted from Galmudug," security official Ali Abdulrahman said, adding that he had been on the airport road near the town of Galkayo and was believed to be in the employ of the local government.

 

"He was in a car when two pickup trucks full of gunmen stopped the vehicle and took him away," Abdulrahman said, adding: "He was a white man."

 

Three employees of the Danish Demining Group, an American, a Dane and a Somali, were kidnapped near the Galkayo airport in October. The Somali was later freed.

 

The town, lying between Galmudug and another self-proclaimed semi-autonomous province, Puntland, was the scene of violent clashes between rival clans and political groups in September.

 

Somalia has been without an effective government for two decades.

 

In September, Galmudug and Puntland signed a roadmap aimed at rebuilding the nation with Somalia's transitional government in Mogadishu.

 

The two territories are both opposed to the Islamist Shebab rebels fighting the central government who control much of the south of the Horn of Africa country.

 

Somalia is one of the most dangerous places in the world for aid workers, where three regions -- including parts of Mogadishu -- have been declared a famine zone by the UN.

 

Despite aid efforts, up to 250,000 people face starvation in the famine zones, while some four million Somalis are in urgent need of aid across the Horn of Africa country, according to the UN.

 

 

 

Copyright © 2012 AFP

[Taleexi]

NASSIR: Odayga dhaaf, We all are Somalis.

[Xaaji Xunjuf]

The source says north somalia well technically they are right Puntland is in north Somalia

[Somalina]

GalMudug is not located in the North.

[Dr_Osman]

Lol I guess the cadaado boys said u aint going nowhere near hobyo and kidnapped the american. This has nothing to do with Puntland. Baraxlay is simply not our jurisdiction. Thats Galmudug jurisdiction and the safety of investors is a responsibility they will need to maintain.

 

In Puntland not only are aid workers present, but so are teachers from all over the world in towns like qardho, garowe, bosaso. Theres engineers from all over the world also in Puntland from those specialising in Commercial buildings all the way to oil sector employees. Did I forget to mention our port employs somalis from everywhere and also oromos and indians. Did I forget to mention the number of doctors in our state who are from overseas?

 

Anyways trying to paint a picture of foreigners are not in puntland is only to your detriment but then again I personally dont want them there when my own locals should be able to do the jobs themselves

[Somalina]

There is certainly no shortage of gaffes and whoppers in here.

[Jacaylbaro]

Dr_Osman;777766 wrote:

Lol I guess the cadaado boys said u aint going nowhere near hobyo and kidnapped the american. This has nothing to do with Puntland. Baraxlay is simply not our jurisdiction. Thats Galmudug jurisdiction and the safety of investors is a responsibility they will need to maintain.

 

Gunmen kidnapped an American man in the northern Somali town of Galkayo

Hmmm ,,,

[Dr_Osman]

(Reuters) - Gunmen kidnapped an American in the Somali town of Galkayo Saturday, local government and military officials said, with one suggesting the man was taken by his own guards who had links to a pirate gang.

 

Abdullahi Qarshi, the top security official in the semi-autonomous Galmudug region said the hostage was American. Residents close to the militia group that abducted the man said he was an American national who also held a German passport.

 

"Gunmen kidnapped the foreigner and we understand they took him to Hobyo," Abshir Dini, interior minister of the semi-autonomous region, told Reuters, referring to a coastal town that is a known pirate base.

 

Kidnappings are relatively common in the anarchic Horn of Africa country, considered among the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, aid workers and private contractors to work in.

 

In October, an armed gang abducted an American and a Dane working for the Danish Demining Group in Galkayo, which straddles the border of Galmudug and another semi-autonomous region, Puntland.

 

Colonel Mohamed Hussein, a senior military official, said the hostage had been part of a two-man group who had been in the region under the pretext of being journalists, but that their exact mission was unclear.

 

"He was kidnapped by his own guards. We understand the clan militia have a link with a pirate leader in Haradheere," Hussein said, in reference to a second pirate lair just south of Hobyo.

 

The other man, Hussein said, had flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Neither had contacted local officials about security when they arrived, he said.

[Dr_Osman]

Try again guys. It doesnt take even 2 seconds to disprove garbage on SOL...At least university garbage reports takes a couple of days with a rebuttal to be prepared

[Dr_Osman]

Thats the Reality!!!

Also in October, Galmudug-based militia is responsible for kidnapping Western aid workers employed by Danish De-mining Group

Hayada Danish Demining Group (DDG) oo Joojisay Howlihii ay ka Wadey Galmudug

[Sensei]

Lool; JB & XX meet your match, the good doctor Osman.