Aid workers abducted in Somalia

Armed men have kidnapped two foreigners working for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) in central Somalia, a local elder and an aid worker have said.The two - believed to be Belgian and Danish - were seized along with their Somali bodyguards by around 25 armed men on Sunday."Unidentified armed men kidnapped two MSG-Belgium aid workers in Bakol region," Hassan Maalin, a local elder, told Reuters by phone from the area."They were heading to Hudur, the capital of Bakol, when gunmen took them away in their vehicle," another relief worker said.The Somali staff travelling along with the two foreigners were later released.For the last 18 years Somalia has been ridden with conflict.More than 3 million Somalis - nearly half the population - currently depend on emergency food aid.Aid workers and journalists have often been held hostage, making it one of the world's most dangerous countries.Generally, hostages are treated well and eventually released once a ransom has been paid.Attacks such as Sunday's are often attributed to Islamist rebels and other militias. The attacks have limited the ability of relief agencies to respond to one of Africa's longest humanitarian crisis.