Britons warned to avoid Kenya-Somali border

Foreign Office warns against travel to area within about 100 miles of Somali border after spate of kidnappings The Foreign Office has warned British citizens to stay away from all Kenyan beaches within 93 miles (150km) of the border with Somalia after a spate of kidnapping raids by armed pirates in speedboats. The updated travel warning against all but essential travel to the area comes after an elderly disabled French woman became the third foreigner to be attacked by pirates in Kenya’s northern coast in recent weeks. On Saturday, despite a boat chase and shootout with pirates, local coastguards failed to rescue the woman, identified by Kenyan authorities as 66-year-old Marie Dedieu, as her attackers fled with her into Somalia. The FCO had previously warned holidaymakers to stay 37 miles away from the border after British publisher David Tebbutt, 58, was killed and his wife Judith taken hostage as they holidayed at a luxury resort 25 miles from the Kenya-Somalia border on 11 September. In 2010 British couple Paul and Rachel Chandler were snatched from their yacht and held for 13 months. They were released after a ransom was paid . Dedieu’s kidnappers had stormed a seafront property near the island of Lamu after arriving by speedboat in the early hours of Saturday. Neighbours reported shots as the gang burst into the thatched house and rounded up staff before carrying off the woman. Officials chased and surrounded a “suspicious vessel” reportedly heading towards neighbouring Somalia with six to 10 gunmen and the elderly hostage on board. Despite wounding several of the gang, officials admitted that they had failed in their rescue mission. Colonel John Steed, in charge of the UN’s counter-piracy unit in Nairobi, said that as darkness fell it had become impossible to give chase further. “Now it reverts to normal kidnapping negotiations,” he said. John Lepapa, 39, described by local journalists as Didieu’s partner, reportedly said that the kidnappers ordered him and the house staff to lie face-down on the floor. “All they were saying was, ‘Where is the foreigner, where is the foreigner?’” he said. “My girlfriend pleaded with them and told them to take whatever they wanted from the house, including the money, and to spare her life. But they would not listen.” One of the gunmen, he said, grabbed Didieu and carried her on his shoulders to a waiting boat. Kenyan police said they had not established if the assailants were Somali pirates, al-Shabaab Islamists or a local gang. Najib Balala, the tourism minister, said coastguard vessels surrounded the boat and there was a standoff between the Kenyan coastguards and the gunmen. Balala said the gang had fired into the air in an attempt to scare off the coastguard and circling aircraft. In a statement, the FCO said: “We advise against all but essential travel to coastal areas within 150km of the Somali border, following two attacks by armed gangs in small boats against beach resorts in the Lamu area on 11 September and 1 October 2011. “This advice will be kept under review. Both attacks were on beach-front properties, with two westerners kidnapped and one murdered. “Beach-front accommodation in that area and boats off the coast are vulnerable.” Somali pirates have frequently seized crew from merchant ships in the coastal waters off the Horn of Africa, but in recent years have targeted private yachts, snatching westerners and demanding – often successfully – huge ransoms. The Lamu archipelago, famed for its pristine beaches and luxury villas, is often included in package holidays to Kenya – the FCO warning is likely to damage the country’s billion dollar a year tourist industry. France has already strongly advised travellers to avoid the region. Kenya Piracy at sea Somalia Africa France Foreign policy Kim Willsher Shiv Malik guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 2, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.