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Press Release
Two more UN aid workers freed from Somalia
Nairobi (30 March 2001) - Two United Nations aid workers who were held
in the Somali capital Mogadishu for four days were on Friday released
and flown to neighboring Kenya.
Pierre-Paul Lamotte, 34, a UNICEF logistician from Belgium and Mohamed
Mohamedi, 30, a World Health Organization(WHO) operations officer -
both working on polio eradication projects - arrived in good health
in the Kenyan capital Nairobi Friday afternoon.
They were met at the airport by UN officials, and taken to a UN office
to rest and debrief with colleagues.
"We are pleased that Pierre-Paul and Mohamed are back, safe and
well," said Randolph Kent, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator
for Somalia. "However, our paramount concern now is to ensure the
safe and immediate release of the two UN staffers still being held in
Mogadishu. We are concentrating all of our efforts on getting them out
as soon as possible."
The UN has maintained indirect contact with the two. Bill Condie, 61,
and Roger Carter, 41, both British, are said to be in good condition.
However the UN insists that it be allowed to establish direct telephone
contact with them, and to confirm that they are being treated well.
The UN continues its dialogue with all parties and is hopeful that peaceful
conditions prevail in Mogadishu to allow their release.
Six international UN staffers and one Somali UN employee were seized
Tuesday morning along with three international aid workers from Medicins
Sans Frontiers, following a two-hour gunbattle at the Medicins Sans
Frontieres compound in north Mogadishu. The aid workers were split into
three groups. On Wednesday, one group - including Jonathan Veitch, 32,
a UNICEF Regional Project Officer from Britain, Sheldon Yett, 37, a
UNICEF Emergency Officer, the Somali UNICEF employee and the three MSF
aid workers - was released, and the international staff flown to neighboring
Kenya.
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For further information, please contact:
Sonya Laurence Green, Information Officer, UN Resident & Humanitarian
Coordinator's Office for Somalia, Tel (254 2) 44 84 34 e-mail sonya.green@undp.org
Julia Spry-Leverton, Communication Officer, UNICEF Somalia
Tel (254 2) 62 39 58, e-mail jspryleverton@unicef.orgjspryleverton@unicef.org
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