Rose Lapp (Reporter)
TWO Spanish hostages have just been released after being held in Somalia for a year and nine months.
Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebaut are aid workers with the non-profit organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
The two women were held hostage for longer than any other Spanish aid worker in recent years.
They were kidnapped on October 13, 2011 in Dadaab, Kenya, while helping plan the construction of a primary care hospital near the Ifo refugee camp.
They were driving in a chauffeured car near Dadaab when they were attacked by a group of armed men.
Because the attackers were common criminals, and not associated with any terrorist group, negotiations for the release of the women fell to Doctors With Borders, who refused to pay the ransom set by mediators.
According to a MSF press release, “both humanitarian workers are in good health and anxious to be reunited with their loved ones as soon as possible.”
