4 aid workers, 2 pilots released in Somalia

The Associated Press

Four European aid workers and two Kenyan pilots were released Tuesday after nine months as hostages in Somalia thanks to efforts by officials, religious leaders and businessmen to free them, Somalia's national security minister said.

French aid group Action Against Hunger said the six were "apparently all in good health" and will undergo medical examinations.The aid group said gunmen seized the six in November in the city of Dhusamareb, about 360 miles (580 kilometers) north of the capital Mogadishu, as they were heading to the airport to fly to Kenya. The Bulgarian government said the Europeans were two French citizens, a Belgian and a Bulgarian.

In Mogadishu, National Security Minister Abdullahi Mohamed Ali said all six "were released after the intervention of government officials, businessmen, clan elders and religious leaders in Dhusamareb."

"As far as we know, no ransom was paid. They have safely departed from the Mogadishu airport," Ali told The Associated Press. "They were healthy and well."Ali said all six departed Tuesday afternoon on a European Union-chartered aircraft.Action Against Hunger spokeswoman Lucile Grosjean declined to give any details of the release or the ex-hostages' current location or destinations, citing security reasons.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed "great relief" at their release and congratulated all those who helped to free them, his office said.Action Against Hunger's Web site says the group employs 14 foreigners and 220 locals in Somalia on projects to promote health and access to clean water.

Foreigners, journalists and aid workers are frequently abducted for ransom in Somalia. The country has had no effective government since 1991 and remains in the grip of violence and anarchy.

Before Tuesday's releases, 16 aid workers were in captivity in Somalia, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.No evidence exists to link the kidnapping of aid workers to the recent surge in piracy off the Somali coast.But the ransoms that pirates have netted from ship owners may highlight the financial value of taking foreign hostages in Somalia, a country where nearly half of the population depends on foreign aid.