Somali insurgents say two French military advisers kidnapped this past
week from the capital, Mogadishu, will be tried according to sharia, or
traditional Islamic law.
A senior member of the Islamist group
al-Shabab on Saturday said the two men are charged with spying and
working for the enemies of Islam. The official spoke on the condition
anonymity.
Armed kidnappers snatched the French nationals from
their hotel in central Mogadishu early Tuesday. The French Foreign
Ministry says the men were on an official mission to provide assistance
to the Somali government.
Al-Shabab has been fighting to
overthrow the Somali President Sharif Sheik Ahmed, a moderate
Islamist. The Somali government accuses al-Shabab of having links to
al-Qaida terrorists.
Earlier Saturday, Somali gunmen seized three foreign aid workers from the border town of Mandera in northern Kenya.
The nationalities of the humanitarian workers and the organizations they work for are not immediately clear.
Somalia
is chaotic after 18 years of internal strife, and foreigners are
frequent kidnap targets. Kidnap victims usually are released unharmed,
but in many cases only after a ransom is paid.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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