Canadian, Australian journalists held hostage in Mogadishu: union

I have not been in Mogadishu for many years but my work with the Canadian Somali Congress keeps me (somewhat) current. The security situation is so poor in Mogadishu (the north is a bit better) that this kidnapping is not out of the ordinary. G-d will it will end well.

A Canadian journalist and an Australian photojournalist kidnapped at gunpoint near the Somali capital of Mogadishu this weekend are believed to be held by militia in the northeastern neighbourhood of Suqa Holaha village, according to the National Union of Somali Journalists.
Identified as Amanda Lindhout, 27, of Sylvan Lake, Alta., and Nigel Brennan, of Brisbane, Australia, the two arrived in the country last Wednesday.

Lindhout, a Baghdad-based journalist, had been on a tour through Africa to put together freelance reports to sell to news agencies.

Brennan was a friend and freelance journalist who was accompanying Lindhout on the stories, the union said in a statement Sunday.

The journalists were kidnapped between the Afgoye district and the capital city with their Somali photojournalist, Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, who was acting as a translator for the two.
Their driver, Mahad, was also kidnapped, the statement said.
 
They had been returning from interviewing locals in the Afgoye district when they were abducted.

"We are appalled by this cruel abduction of journalists and call for the immediate release of our colleagues who are being held captive because of their noble work for Somali people" said union spokesman Omar Faruk Osman in a statement. "We demand that those holding Abdifatah Mohammed Elmi, Nigel Brennan and Amanda Lindhout free them unconditionally and immediately. We are worried about their safety as we have had no contact with anybody saying they are holding three journalists and their driver."

Although no one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, the union is investigating reports that the four are being held in Mogadishu.

"It is not clear whether they are being held for political purposes, bargaining chips or financial purposes," the union said. "But journalists who spoke in condition of anonymity for their security said the abduction seems (to be a) pre-planned attack."
 
Amanda's father, John Lindhout, told Global National in a telephone interview from his home in Sylvan Lake, Alta., Saturday that he has been in constant contact with the Department of Foreign Affairs who are investigating the incident. The department has not confirmed the kidnapping to the media.
Lindhout started out her career as a photographer and has posted some of her work on the Internet. Since then, she has also worked in Iraq as the Baghdad correspondent for an Iranian television broadcaster, but quit in May to work as a freelancer.

The last entry on her Facebook social networking page, posted Friday, said, "Livin' it up in Mogadishu Somalia."
Ottawa advises against all travel in Somalia.

The latest travel advisory, updated July 11 but still valid now, cautions that "Canadians in this country should leave."
Somalia has lacked an effective government since 1991 and Islamists are engaged in guerrilla warfare and deadly clashes with Somali government forces, Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers. The abduction of journalists and humanitarian workers is common and kidnappings are often associated with ransom demands.

James Morton
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