A French woman has been kidnapped by an armed gang on the Kenyan resort island of Manda, and taken to Somalia, Kenyan officials say.
"An elderly, disabled French lady who has been living in Manda Island in her own house was abducted by 10 heavily armed Somali bandits suspected to be al-Shabab operatives from Ras Chiamboni in Somalia, near the Kenyan border," said a Kenyan government statement, reported by the BBC.
A Kenyan statement said some abductors were injured in a shootout with two Kenyan ships trying to stop them.
| Advertisement |
The kidnap of the 66 year old woman comes just two weeks after a British couple was attacked further north. Gunmen shot dead husband David Tebbutt and kidnapped his wife Judith in Kiwayu. She too was taken across the border to Somalia.
The most recent attack has prompted fears that tourism will suffer, which in turn will threaten the livelihoods of those people living on the island — almost all of whom work in or deal with the travel industry.
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
