索马里歹徒释放劫持的英国救援人员

A British security consultant¹ kidnapped six days ago by gunmen in Somalia has been released, the charity Save the Children says.

慈善组织救助儿童会称，六天前在索马里被持枪歹徒劫持的一名英国安全顾问已经被释放。

Zimbabwean-born Frans Barnard was seized in the town of Adado last Thursday. A local colleague seized with him was freed the next day.

Save the Children denied that any ransom²（赎金） was paid for his release, as one local elder had said.

The charity said Mr Barnard was now heading to a place of safety.

"No ransom was paid. His release happened through negotiations," local official Mohamed Mohamud told Reuters news agency.

'Relatively³ safe area'

Frans Barnard had gone to the area to see if it was safe enough for Save the Children to set up a new base to help malnourished（营养不良的） and sick children, along with their families.

But on Thursday evening, a group of masked gunmen stormed the building used as a staff residence.

High walls and a heavy steel gate reportedly forced the kidnappers⁴ to climb in through a window before they fled with their hostages into an area said to be controlled by the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda.

Adado, which is near the Ethiopian border, is also closely linked to pirate groups who routinely take ships and crew hostage and demand hefty（重的，肌肉发达的） ransoms⁵.

Until now, Adado had been seen as a relatively stable part of Somalia, with aid groups considering relocating there after being forced out of more volatile⁶ regions.

Several foreigners have been kidnapped in Somalia in recent years.

Most have been freed unhurt after a ransom has been paid.