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13:21 GMT, Tuesday, 23 September 2008 14:21 UK

Aid workers kidnapped in Ethiopia

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Two aid workers working for Medecins du Monde in Ethiopia have been abducted from the Ogaden region that borders Somalia, the French aid agency says.

Eyewitnesses say the man and woman, whose nationalities are not known, have been taken to Somalia's central region of Galguduud by well-armed gunmen.

Kidnapping of foreigners is common in Somalia. Correspondents say most are released after ransoms are paid.

On Monday, a kidnapped German and his Somali wife were freed.

They were released by police in the Somali semi-autonomous north-eastern region of Puntland.

The aid workers in Ogaden, Ethiopia's Somali region which is suffering from a severe drought, were kidnapped on Monday.

"The organisation is in permanent contact with the authorities, its team on the ground as well as other actors on the field," AFP news agency quotes Medecins du Monde as saying in a statement.

Somalia has been wracked by conflict since 1991 and ethnic Somali rebels have been fighting an insurgency for years in Ogaden.



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Related to this story:
Country profile: Ethiopia (03 Jun 08 |  Country profiles )
In the shadow of Ethiopia's rebels (14 Aug 07 |  Africa )
Ethiopian needy 'not getting aid' (19 Sep 08 |  Africa )
Country profile: Somalia (18 Jun 08 |  Country profiles )
Somalia's security nightmare (06 Mar 08 |  Africa )

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