Somalia: We Are Working to Rescue Hostages from a United Nations Helicopter

A spokesman stated today, Thursday, that "the Somali government is working to rescue the passengers of a United Nations helicopter that has been taken hostage by the Al-Shabaab militant group," but army officers said that "it will be difficult to reach the area to which they were taken." Two officers told Reuters that "two Somali nationals and several foreigners were on board the aircraft, and that the militants have taken many of them hostage. It is not clear exactly how many the group has detained or whether some managed to escape." For his part, Minister of Information Dawood Aweys told Reuters that "the government has been making efforts to save the crew of the helicopter since yesterday, at the time of the incident, and those efforts are still ongoing," but he did not provide further details. The helicopter contracted by the United Nations was conducting a medical evacuation when it was forced to make an emergency landing near the village of Hindheer in the central region, an area controlled by militants.