TUESDAY, 10.30AM:
A SOMALI faction leader negotiating the release of 10 kidnapped foreign aid workers, including South African pilot Robbie Burt, says the talks are “encouraging”.
“We cannot promise their freedom, but the negotiations are encouraging. No more threats will be made to kill them and negotiations will be carried out in an orderly manner,” said Ali Ugas Abdulle, an ally of Ali Mahdi Mohamed, whose faction controls north Mogadishu.
“The kidnappers have appointed their own representative to negotiate directly with elders and the faction controlling north Mogadishu,” Abdulle added.
The captors previously negotiated through intermediaries and had no direct contact with the elders from Ali Mahdi’s Abgal clan rying to secure the release of the hostages. A spokesman for Ali Mahdi denied Monday’s announcement by the faction of south Mogadishu warlord Hussein Aidid that the hostages’ release was imminent.