Three Britons abducted in Somalia

Mogadishu is controlled by rival armed groups

Three British aid workers have been ambushed in Somalia along with eight other people.

In total 11 aid workers - seven connected to the UN and four with the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) - were involved.

All 11 were working for a joint UN and WHO programme, vaccinating Somalian children against polio.

Mogadishu is like a tinderbox still with a lot of conflict between factions liable to break out

UN representative in Nairobi

The UN workers were visiting a compound in northern Mogadishu to discuss the scheme when they were ambushed by local militia.

Several Somalians were killed, but all the aid workers were thought to be uninjured.

A UN spokesman said: "We believe seven UN workers were abducted and are situated in a few locations in parts of Mogadishu.

"We are in contact with a couple who are being held by faction militia leader Mussa Sudi, the transitional Somalian government and other parties. "We are trying to see if we can secure their prompt release."

Close contact

Of the seven being held, three are British, one is American, one French, one Belgian and one Somalian.

Among the four MSF workers, two are Spanish, one is French and one Somalian.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "We can confirm three Britons have been abducted and as far as we know have not been found.

"We are trying to establish the facts and find out exactly what happened."

The UN spokesman added: "We are keeping close contact with the parties involved but as far as we know the workers are not being harmed."