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Somalia: UN refugee agency welcomes release of its top staff in Somalia
Thu. August 28, 2008 09:37 am.- By Bonny Apunyu. -
(SomaliNet) After two months of captivity in Somalia, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has welcomed the release of the head of the agency's office in Somalia.
Hassan Mohammed Ali, who heads the agency's office in Somali capital Mogadishu was released on Wednesday and in good health and will soon be reunited with his family, a statement from the UNHCR received on Thursday said.
The UNHCR staff, Ali, a Somali national who is also known as Keynaan, was abducted from his home near Mogadishu on June 21 by an unknown armed group.
Media sources say the agency thanked the Somali organizations and civil society members who held demonstrations to call for Ali's release over the past two months.
"We are also grateful for all the expressions of public support and solidarity received during the difficult weeks of his captivity," UNHCR said in its statement.
UNHCR noted that it would continue to provide aid to displaced civilians across Somalia, where they are suffering from the combined effects of violent conflict, prolonged drought and the current global food crisis.
The UN agency also offered its sympathies to aid workers who are still forcibly detained in Somalia, noting that the number of abductions and attacks against such workers has increased in recent months.
"We extend our sympathies to aid workers who are still forcibly detained in Somalia. Abductions and attacks against humanitarian workers have increased over the past few months, jeopardizing the delivery of aid to vulnerable populations," it said. –Xinhua
News Category: Somalia
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