Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - "Caritas follows the highest security protocols and will continue to work in Dadaab", said Suzanna Tkalec to Fides, operator of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), responsible for the operation of Caritas Somalia in Dadaab ( in northern Kenya), where yesterday, October 12, two aid workers of Doctors Without Borders (DWB) were kidnapped. The two operators were kidnapped from the camp of Ido, one of the structures which houses the largest community of Somali refugees in the world (over 400,000 people).
According to the Kenyan police the responsible for the kidnapping are a group Shabab, the Somali fundamentalists who are fighting against the transitional government in Mogadishu. In addition to the two workers of DWB, who have already been transferred to Somalia, two other women (one French tourist and another British tourist) are in the hands of Somali kidnappers. The two women were kidnapped in the archipelago of Lumu, one of the most exclusive resorts in Kenya, which is located about ten kilometers from the border with Somalia.
"It is hard to say whether there is a clear political strategy on behalf of the Shabab, or if these episodes are acts of banditry aimed at obtaining ransom. In this last case we would be in the presence of an extension on the mainland of criminal activities carried out by Somali pirates on the high seas " says one of the collaborators of CRS who works in Dadaab to Fides. As far as working conditions in the area are concerned, our correspondent adds: "Ensuring the safety of a village a few kilometers from the Somali border, where a large numbers of refugees are concentrated, is not easy, but there are safety protocols that most of us follow". "The kidnapping of two aid workers is a dramatic event but this does not prevent us from continuing our mission", concludes Suzanna Tkalec. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 14/10/2011)
