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Italian nuns kidnapped in Kenya | Italian nuns kidnapped in Kenya |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Suspected Somali gunmen have kidnapped two Italian nuns in Kenya and taken them over the border to Somalia, officials and witnesses have said. | Suspected Somali gunmen have kidnapped two Italian nuns in Kenya and taken them over the border to Somalia, officials and witnesses have said. |
The nuns were taken during a pre-dawn raid in the border town of El Wak, about 400 miles (645km) north-east of the capital, Nairobi, reports said. | The nuns were taken during a pre-dawn raid in the border town of El Wak, about 400 miles (645km) north-east of the capital, Nairobi, reports said. |
The Kenyan Red Cross said the gunmen escaped in three hijacked vehicles. | The Kenyan Red Cross said the gunmen escaped in three hijacked vehicles. |
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991. Islamist rebels are in control of much of the country. | Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991. Islamist rebels are in control of much of the country. |
It was not immediately clear who had carried out the kidnapping. | |
North-eastern Kenya is inhabited by ethnic Somalis, and there are frequent clashes over access to land and water in the area. | |
In Somalia, armed gangs have kidnapped and killed a number of aid workers, while there have also been repeated attacks on Catholic targets. | |
There were conflicting reports about the circumstances of the nuns' kidnapping. | |
A local aid worker was quoted as saying the nuns had been taken in the midst of a shoot-out at a church, while the Kenyan Red Cross said the women had been taken hostage at their home. | |
Kenyan police said they were collaborating with Somali elders over the incident, AFP news agency reported. | Kenyan police said they were collaborating with Somali elders over the incident, AFP news agency reported. |
The Italian foreign ministry said it was also working to secure the release of the Catholic nuns, adding that the papal nuncio in Kenya was involved. | The Italian foreign ministry said it was also working to secure the release of the Catholic nuns, adding that the papal nuncio in Kenya was involved. |
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