DATELINE:
LONDON Sept. 26
BODY:
A separatist rebel group in the region of
Ogaden in Ethiopia said Friday two
aid workers abducted in the East African
country earlier this week were safe as of
Thursday night.
A senior London-based public relations
official of the
Ogaden National Liberation Front told
Kyodo News that one of the two workers is a
Japanese female.
The official said the ONLF knows who is
behind the abduction but declined to reveal
further information, explaining negotiations
for the two's release have reached a
"sensitive" stage.
The official said the ONLF is not
responsible for the abduction, adding
persons seeking ransom are behind.
The two aid workers have been kidnapped in
an inhabited area several dozen kilometers
from the Somali border, which is not under
the control of the ONLF, the official said.
The two were later transferred to the
village of Abudwak 40-50 kilometers away,
moving around the village, the official
said.
ONLF is fighting to make the region of
Ogaden in eastern Ethiopia an
independent state.
Radio France reported Tuesday the two aid
workers abducted are a Japanese female
doctor and a Dutch male nurse.
The two belongs to a French medical aid
group called Doctors of the World. The group
has declined to identify the two, citing
security concerns. The group has not
released any information regarding the
nationalities or names of the two.
September 27, 2008
Source: BBC Monitoring |
