Updated on
Summary A French woman who was snatched from Kenya and taken to Somalia has died in custody of her captors.
A disabled Frenchwoman who was snatched from her beachfront home at a Kenyan resort island and taken to neighbouring Somalia has died in the hands of her captors, France said on Wednesday.The foreign ministry said the circumstances of 66-year-old Marie Dedieus death were not known, but her failing health had probably been a factor.This was an act of unqualified barbarism, violence and brutality, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told reporters.We condemn this in the strongest possible terms. We did everything possible to try to obtain her release, we tried to send medication by numerous different channels and apparently these savages could not care less.The announcement of her death came as Kenyan jets pounded the positions in Somalia of Al-Qaeda linked Shebab militants, who Nairobi blames for a spate of abductions of foreigners.Kenyan forces launched an unprecedented incursion, which it says has already killed dozens of Shebab fighters, into Somalia this week with the blessing of the Western-backed government in Mogadishu.The contacts through which the French government was seeking to obtain the release of Marie Dedieu, held in Somalia since October 1, have announced her death, the French foreign ministry said in a statement.Mrs Dedieus state of health, uncertainty over the conditions of her detention and the fact that the kidnappers probably refused to give her the medication that we sent her lead us to believe that this tragic outcome is unfortunately the most likely, the ministry said.A gang of 10 armed men seized Dedieu from Manda Island in Kenyas Lamu archipelago earlier this month and fled by sea to Somalia, fighting off an attempt by Kenyas navy to stop them.There had been serious concern over the health of Dedieu, who was wheelchair-bound after an accident several years ago, recovering from cancer and required medication every few hours.
Featured
