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Former British Hostage Leaves Somalia

   VOA News 21 October 2010

   A  British man held hostage in Somalia for nearly a week thanked those
   responsible for his freedom and left the country for Kenya Thursday, a
   day after his release.
   Frans  Barnard,  who works for  British charity [1]Save the Children,
   was kidnapped from a guest house in the town of Adado on October 14.
   A  Save  the Children spokeswoman, Anna Ford, says local elders helped
   negotiate Barnard's release. Â
   Ford says no ransom was paid.
   A  local  politician told VOA Somali service that security forces have
   arrested eight of Barnard's alleged captors.
   A Somali man kidnapped along with Barnard was released earlier.
   Save  the  Children  said  the  workers were looking into setting up a
   program  to help sick and malnourished children in Adado, an area near
   the Somali-Ethiopian border.
   Most  aid  agencies  have  pulled  their  foreign staff out of Somalia
   because of frequent kidnappings and a general lack of security.
   The Horn of Africa country has not had a stable central government for
   nearly two decades.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

References

   1. http://www.savethechildren.org/

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