Somalia: top UN envoy calls for release of kidnapped aid workers
The Secretary-General's Special Representative for Somalia has called for the release of two female staff members of the
international aid organization Médecins Sans Frontières who have been abducted in the strife-torn Horn of Africa nation.
Expressing his shock at the incident which occurred in Bosasso, Puntland, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah said kidnapping
humanitarian workers "did not serve the cause of peace or Somalia's traditional culture of hospitality," in a statement
issued today.
He appealed for those involved to free the two women unconditionally.
Somalia, which has lacked a functioning government since 1991, has been wracked by violence in recent months which has
displaced around 1 million people and has caused some 3 million to flee the country as refugees.
Earlier this month, Mr. Ould-Abdallah told the Security Council that "the situation in Somalia is dangerous and becoming
more so each day."
He urged the international community to draw up a road map towards lasting peace and stability in Somalia, warning that
continuing with "business as usual" would have dire consequences for the country and the region.
ENDS