DODGY DEALINGS IN SOMALIA: KIDNAPPED FRENCH JOURNALIST SAID TO BE FINE
December 19th 2007 02:30
Reuters reports that a Somali clan elder said on Tuesday that 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 the 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 told Reuters.
"We are going to negotiate with them again today."
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.
- From MediaBlab
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