From correspondents in Mogadishu | July 19
TWO French agents kidnapped in Somalia will be tried soon under Islamic Sharia law for aiding "the enemy of Allah", an official of the hardline Shebab rebel group holding them said today.
A Somali minister says the two have been taken out of the capital and there's concern for their safety.
Separately, three foreign aid workers were also reported kidnapped on Friday night in a Kenyan town close to the Somali border.
The French agents "were caught assisting the apostate government and their spies'', a senior Shebab officer said on condition of anonymity.
He said they will "soon be tried and punished under the Sharia law, they will face the justice court for spying and entering Somalia to assist the enemy of Allah''.
"The decision about their fate will depend on the outcome of the Islamic court that will hear the charges against them,'' he said.
The two agents, in Somalia to train government forces, were snatched at gunpoint from their hotel in central Mogadishu early on Tuesday.
Shebab is one of two allied Islamic insurgent groups battling to overthrow the transitional government which is supported by the international community.
Somalia's Social Affairs Minister Mohammed Ali Ibrahim told French news channel France 24 on Saturday from Mogadishu that the two men have been taken out of the capital.
"As long as they were here, there were contacts,'' he said. "Intermediaries were in contact with Shebab and we knew they were in good health, but since this morning they have been taken away.''
"We must be concerned about them and take strong action'', he added.
He said France is putting pressure on Eritrea, which allegedly arms Shebab and other extremists in Somalia - something Asmara denies - and the Somali Government is also sending envoys to Shebab. Read more here ...
Source: The Australian
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