Nairobi: Kenyan coastguards have surrounded
the kidnappers of a disabled Frenchwoman at sea as they
reportedly were heading for Somalia, a Kenyan minister said
on Saturday.
"There is still a stand-off between the Kenyan
coastguards and the gunmen. An army helicopter is also
hovering over the vessel and we are continually monitoring the
situation. We will continue giving you an update as the
situation unfolds," Tourism Minister Najib Balala told AFP by
telephone.
Earlier Ernest Munyi, head of police for the Coast
province, said the kidnappers were headed for Somalia, only a
few dozen kilometres (miles) from where the 66-year-old woman
was snatched.
The kidnapping, which happened just across an idyllic
lagoon from the celebrity-packed resort island of Lamu, came
less than a month after a British woman was abducted and her
husband killed several kilometres to the north.
Local sources said the Frenchwoman was well known in the
area, where she spends much of the year. She is only able to
get around by wheelchair, which the kidnappers did not take
with them.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, October 01, 2011, 21:32