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Former British Hostage Leaves Somalia


A British man held hostage in Somalia for nearly a week thanked those responsible for his freedom and left the country for Kenya Thursday, a day after his release.

Frans Barnard, who works for British charity Save the Children, was kidnapped from a guest house in the town of Adado on October 14.

A Save the Children spokeswoman, Anna Ford, says local elders helped negotiate Barnard's release.

Ford says no ransom was paid.

A local politician told VOA Somali service that security forces have arrested eight of Barnard's alleged captors.

A Somali man kidnapped along with Barnard was released earlier.

Save the Children said the workers were looking into setting up a program to help sick and malnourished children in Adado, an area near the Somali-Ethiopian border.

Most aid agencies have pulled their foreign staff out of Somalia because of frequent kidnappings and a general lack of security.

The Horn of Africa country has not had a stable central government for nearly two decades.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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