French army personnel seized in Somalia

PressTV
Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:51:35 GMT

The two men seized by Somali gunmen from their hotel in the conflict-torn capital have been identified as French security consultants working for the government.

Earlier reports said that unknown Gunmen in police uniforms stormed the Sahafi Hotel in the southern part of the capital and snatched two "foreign journalists" from their rooms at gunpoint.

Ten gunmen on Tuesday morning stormed into a Mogadishu hotel where the pair was staying, a Press TV correspondent said citing officials.

An informed source told our correspondent that members of the rebel al-Shabaab group were behind the kidnapping, adding that the pair had been tasked with training the Somali government forces.

A government official speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters that the two, a Colonel and Lieutenant, had been posing as reporters for their own protection.

The capital, Mogadishu has been the sense of deadly clashes over the past few months, after the rebels stepped up attack on the government of President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who was sworn in late January.

Although civil war and piracy in the lawless Horn of African country have plagued the whole nation, kidnappings-- targeting mostly Westerners-- frequently take place the coastal capital.

The hostages are usually returned unharmed after substantial ransom payments.

More than two years of insurgency has left at least 18,000 civilians dead and displaced 1 million others.