Foreign hostages in Somalia

The following is a list of known foreign hostages captured in Somalia, particularly since the start of the Ethiopian intervention and the 2009–present phase of the civil war.

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

Australia

Released (1)
  • Nigel Brennan, was a photojournalist who was kidnapped on August 23, 2008, alongside his colleagues, Canadian journalist Amanda Lindhout, and Somali photojournalist Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi, who were seized near Mogadishu along with two Somali drivers. Abdifatah and the two drivers were released on January 15, 2009.[1][2] Lindhout and Brennan were released 15 months later on November 25, 2009 after a $600,000 ransom was paid. The abductors were teenage insurgents from the Hizbul Islam fundamentalist group.[3]

Canada

Released (1)
  • Amanda Lindhout, was a journalist who was kidnapped on August 23, 2008, alongside her colleagues, Australian photojournalist Nigel Brennan, and Somali photojournalist Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi, who were seized near Mogadishu along with two Somali drivers. Abdifatah and the two drivers were released on January 15, 2009.[4][5] Lindhout and Brennan were released 15 months later on November 25, 2009 after a $600,000 ransom was paid. The abductors were teenage insurgents from the Hizbul Islam fundamentalist group.[6]

Denmark

Rescued (1)

France

Escaped (1)
  • Marc Aubriere, was a French security consultant alongside Denis Allex, who worked for the government from the Sahafi hotel in Mogadishu. The men were subsequently taken by Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam militants following a skirmish on July 14, 2009. Both men were then split between Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam.[10][11] Aubriere escaped from his kidnappers while they slept on August 26, 2009.[12][13]

Killed (4)
  • Marie Dedieu, was kidnapped from Kenya's Manda Island on October 1, 2011 and taken to Somalia. Police suspect Al-Shabaab gunmen were responsible.[14] Dedieu, who was paraplegic, died later in the month.[15]
  • Denis Allex and two French soldiers, were killed by Al-Shabaab fighters January 11, 2013. Denis Allex was an intelligence officer and, along with two French soldiers, was killed in an unsuccessful rescue attempt by French forces. A DGSE operative, Allex had been held since 2009, when he was taken hostage by the insurgents while training Somali government troops. In exchange for his release, Al-Shabaab had demanded cessation of French support for the Somali authorities and the complete withdrawal of AMISOM forces from Somalia. According to the French Ministry of Defence, 17 militants were also killed in the crossfire.[16][17]

Kenya

Released (3)
  • Fredrick Irungu Wainaina, Edward Mule Yesse, and Dekow Mohammed, were kidnapped on January 11, 2012. Retaliating against the coordinated Operation Linda Nchi inside Somalia, about 100 heavily armed Al-Shabaab gunmen raided a police camp in Gerille, Wajir District, near the Somalia-Kenya border. The militants bombed the camp, killed six people and wounded three others, stealing firearms, ammunition and a vehicle in the process.[18] Three individuals were taken hostage.[19] According to local media reports, the insurgents later paraded the hostages in the southern Somali town of Bardhere (BardherBardere).[18] On January 19, the militants released photos of two of their captives, who were identified as Kenyan government officials Fredrick Irungu Wainaina and Edward Mule Yesse. A third hostage, Dekow Mohammed, was of Somali descent. He was released on January 17, 2012.[19][20] Two of the hostages reportedly included a chief and a district officer.[18] Wainaina and Yesse were released on July 30, 2013.[21]

Unknown (1)
  • Patrick Amukhuma, was a Kenyan environmentalist who, alongside his British colleague Murray Watson, was an employee of an Indian company under contract with the UN. On April 1, 2008, they were seized by unknown gunmen while conducting a survey in southern Somalia's conflict zones. Their driver, translator and two guards were not taken. Amukhuma and Watson have not been seen or heard from since. Their kidnappers' demands ranged from $2 million to $4 million in exchange for the men's release.[22][23]

Spain

Released (2)
  • Two aid workers, who were employed by Médecins Sans Frontières were kidnapped from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya on October 13, 2011, and taken to Somalia. Their Kenyan driver was wounded but not abducted. Police suspect Al-Shabaab militants were responsible for the abductions. The two aid workers were released on July 19, 2013.[14][24]

United Kingdom

Released (1), Killed (1)
  • Judith Tebbutt was kidnapped on September 11, 2011 when gunmen stormed a bungalow on Kiwayu island, Kenya. Tebbutt’s husband, British publishing executive David Tebbutt, was shot dead whilst Judith was taken to a hideout in Somalia. Police suspect that militants with the Al-Shabaab Islamist group were responsible.[14] On March 21, 2012, Judith Tebbutt's captors released her after her family reportedly paid a ransom.[25]

Rescued (2)
  • Paul and Rachel Chandler, were a British couple who were kidnapped on October 23, 2009, from their 38 ft sailing boat off the archipelago of the Seychelles during the night. The distress signal was sent out at 22:00. Naval forces and Search & Rescue centres were slow to react until the story broke on 27 October and pirates informed the media that the couple were in danger. 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. After ransoms were paid, the couple were released on 14 November 2010.[26][27][28]

Unknown (1)
  • Murray Watson, was a British environmentalist who, alongside his Kenyan colleague Patrick Amukhuma, was an employee of an Indian company contracted by the UN. On April 1, 2008, they were seized by unknown gunmen while conducting a survey in southern Somalia's conflict zones. Their driver, translator and two guards were not taken. Watson and Amukhuma have not been seen or heard from since. Their kidnappers' demands ranged from $2 million to $4 million in exchange for the men's release.[29][30]

United States

Rescued (1)

See also

References
  1. Herald, Calgary (2008-10-22). "Kidnapped journalist, colleagues poorly treated: Reports". Canada.com. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  2. "Captors free Somali journalist but no word on Canadian colleague - World - CBC News". Cbc.ca. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  3. "Amanda Lindhout Speaks out for women in Somalia". Toronto Star. May 25, 2010.
  4. Herald, Calgary (2008-10-22). "Kidnapped journalist, colleagues poorly treated: Reports". Canada.com. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  5. "Captors free Somali journalist but no word on Canadian colleague - World - CBC News". Cbc.ca. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  6. "Amanda Lindhout Speaks out for women in Somalia". Toronto Star. May 25, 2010.
  7. "Somali elders stand up against kidnapping of aid workers". Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  8. the CNN Wire Staff (31 October 2011). "Aid workers kidnapped in Somalia are alive and well - CNN.com". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  9. "Somalia: Western hostages freed in US military raid". BBC News. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012. Two foreign aid workers kidnapped in Somalia three months ago have been freed in a rare US military raid.
  10. "French agent Marc Aubriere's amazing barefoot escape through Mogadishu". The Australian. August 31, 2009.
  11. "TIMELINE-Foreign hostages held by kidnappers in Somalia". Reuters. 2009-08-11. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  12. "Africa | Somalia hostage tells of escape". BBC News. 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  13. "Cố vấn Pháp tại Somalia vượt thoát khỏi tay phiến quân".
  14. "Africa piracy: foreigners being held hostage". Telegraph.co.uk. 14 October 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  15. "BBC News - French hostage Marie Dedieu held in Somalia dies". BBC News. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  16. John Irish, Abdi Sheikh (12 January 2013). "France says hostage killed during rescue bid in Somalia". Reuters. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
  17. "French soldier killed and hostage feared dead in Somalia". BBC News. January 12, 2013.
  18. "Somalia: Shabaab Displays Four Abducted Kenyans".
  19. "Somalia: Al Shabaab release photos of hostages".
  20. "Man's Ordeal in Al-Shabaab Captivity". Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  21. "allAfrica.com: Kenyan Officials Abducted By Shabaab in 2012 Freed". allAfrica.com. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  22. Heaton, Laura. "The Key to Saving Somalia is Gathering Dust in the British Countryside".
  23. "British and Kenyan abducted in Somalia - Afrik-news.com : Africa news, Maghreb news - The African daily newspaper". En.afrik.com. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  24. "Spanish hostages freed from Somalia". BBC News. July 18, 2013.
  25. Cowell, Alan (March 21, 2012). "Kidnapped British Woman Is Freed in Somalia" – via NYTimes.com.
  26. "Help Paul and Rachel Chandler return home safely!". Savethechandlers.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-13. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  27. "Somalia kidnap: Paul and Rachel Chandler freed - Channel 4 News". Channel4.com. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  28. Gettleman, Jeffrey (2011-10-05). "Taken by Pirates". The New York Times.
  29. Heaton, Laura. "The Key to Saving Somalia is Gathering Dust in the British Countryside".
  30. "British and Kenyan abducted in Somalia - Afrik-news.com : Africa news, Maghreb news - The African daily newspaper". En.afrik.com. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
  31. "Somali elders stand up against kidnapping of aid workers". Archived from the original on October 1, 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
  32. the CNN Wire Staff (31 October 2011). "Aid workers kidnapped in Somalia are alive and well - CNN.com". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  33. "Somalia: Western hostages freed in US military raid". BBC News. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012. Two foreign aid workers kidnapped in Somalia three months ago have been freed in a rare US military raid.

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