UN official says 3 employees kidnapped by gunmen in Somalia

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Gunmen have kidnapped three aid workers in southern Somalia, a United Nations official said Monday. The official said two employees of the United Nations Development Program and one employee of the World Food Program were seized in the town of Wajid but had no further details. The official spoke Monday and asked for anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to press. An employee of a local humanitarian organization said the three kidnapped workers were a Ugandan, a Russian and a Somali. The employee asked for anonymity because he feared retribution, as attacks on aid workers are common in Somalia. A witness said the three were seized by gunmen along with a Somali translator who was later released.