Foreign hostages in Somalia

Kidnapping and hostage taking has become a common occurrence in Somalia since 2008, while the country is still facing civil war (see: War in Somalia (2006–present).

For crews kidnapped off the Somali coast, see Piracy in Somalia

The following is a list of known hostages taken in Somalia.

Timeline

• April 1, 2008: The British environmentalist Murray Watson and his Kenyan colleague Patrick Amukhuma, employees of an Indian company under contract with UN, were seized by gunmen. They have not been seen or heard from since and no group has ever claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.^[1]

• July 14, 2009: Somali gunmen kidnapped two French security consultants working for the government from the Sahafi hotel in Mogadishu.^[2] The men were subsequently split between Hizbul Islam and al Shabaab. One of the hostages, Marc Aubriere, escaped from his kidnappers while they slept on August 26, 2009. The other hostage, Denis Allex, is still being held. He is the longest held foreign hostage in Somalia.^[3][4]

• August 23, 2008: The Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout, the Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan and the Somali photojournalist Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi were seized near Mogadishu along with two drivers. Abdifatah and the two drivers were released on January 15, 2009.^[5][6] Amanda and Nigel were released on November 25, 2009.^[7]

• October 23, 2009: A British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, were kidnapped from their 38 ft sailing boat off the archipelago of the Seychelles during the night. The distress signal was sent out at 22h00. Naval forces and Search & Rescue centres did not swing into full action until the story broke on 27 October and Somalis informed the media that the couple was in their hands. The yacht S/Y Lynn Rival was found the next day by naval forces, abandoned off the Central Somali Coast. The two hostages had been first taken onto a previously hijacked merchant ship, the MV Kota Wajar, and then onto land near Ceel Huur, north of Harardheere. The couple were released on 14 November 2010, after a reported £600,000 ransom was paid.^[8][9]

• September 11, 2011: Somalia gunmen stormed Kiwayu island, Kenya, and kidnapped Briton Judith Tebbutt. Her husband David was killed. Judith was then taken to Somalia.^[10]

• October 1, 2011: Frenchwoman Marie Dedieu was kidnapped from Kenya's Manda Island and taken to Somalia. Dedieu, who was paraplegic, died later in the month.^[11]

• October 13: Two Spanish aid workers employed by Medecins Sans Frontieres were kidnapped from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya. They were taken to Somalia.^[10]

• October 25: American Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted were abducted by Somalis in northern Galkayo, Somalia. Both were working for the Danish Refugee Council.^[12]

References

1. ^ "British and Kenyan abducted in Somalia - Afrik-news.com : Africa news, Maghreb news - The african daily newspaper". En.afrik.com. http://en.afrik.com/article13038.html. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
2. ^ "TIMELINE-Foreign hostages held by kidnappers in Somalia". Reuters. 2009-08-11. http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSLB51222. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
3. ^ "Africa | Somalia hostage tells of escape". BBC News. 2009-08-26. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8222835.stm. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
4. ^ Cố vấn Pháp tại Somalia vượt thoát khỏi tay phiến quân (Vietnamese)
5. ^ Herald, Calgary (2008-10-22). "Kidnapped journalist, colleagues poorly treated: Reports". Canada.com. http://www.canada.com/theprovince/story.html?id=f8cbb569-a9e3-4bac-91e4-86b67fc00e62. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
6. ^ "Captors free Somali journalist but no word on Canadian colleague - World - CBC News". Cbc.ca. 2009-01-16. http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/01/16/somali-journalist.html. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
7. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
8. ^ "Help Paul and Rachel Chandler return home safely!". Savethechandlers.com. http://www.SaveTheChandlers.com. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
9. ^ "Somalia kidnap: Paul and Rachel Chandler freed - Channel 4 News". Channel4.com. http://www.channel4.com/news/somalia-kidnap-chandlers-freed. Retrieved 2011-10-21. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Africa piracy: foreigners being held hostage
11. ^ French hostage Marie Dedieu held in Somalia dies
12. ^ Aid workers kidnapped in Somalia are alive and well