NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 13 – Two women working with an international organisation were kidnapped at the Ifo Camp in Dadaab on Thursday afternoon.
Police Spokesman Erick Kiraithe confirmed that the two foreigners were abducted by militants believed to be Al Shabaab from Somalia while on duty at the Ifo camp. The incident occurred at about 1pm local time.
“A driver who was taking them around was shot and thrown out of the vehicle. He is in a serious condition,” he added.
The police spokesman said they had deployed a helicopter to the area as a search intensified for the kidnapped women.
“There is a massive manhunt going on in the region at the moment to rescue the women,” he added without elaborating.
He also declined to give their nationalities or identities but our sources have indicated to us that those abducted are of either French or Spanish origin.
Kiraithe said they had received information that those kidnapped worked with the Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF).
He said contingents of security forces from various units had been deployed to spearhead the search.
“The search is ongoing but there are heavy rains in the area and it is hampering the operations,” he said.
A police source based in Dadaab told Capital News the two were driving from a facility known as Health Post Q when they were captured.
“The reports we have at the moment is that they were the only three in the vehicle at the time, that is the two women and the driver and that is when they were attacked,” he added.
“We believe they have been taken to Somalia because the four-wheel vehicle was seen speeding towards the border,” he added in reference to the common border with Somalia.
Thursday’s kidnapping by Al Shabaab brings to four the number of women in the hands of Somalia militants after a Briton and a French woman were taken away from Lamu last month.
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