French agents held in Somalia to be tried under Sharia law

Two French agents kidnapped in Somalia will be tried soon under Islamic Sharia law for aiding "the enemy of Allah," an official of the hardline Shebab rebel group holding them said yesterday.

A Somali minister said the pair had been taken out of the capital and there was concern for their safety.

Separately, three foreign aid workers were also reported kidnapped overnight in a Kenyan town close to the Somali border.

The French agents "were caught assisting the apostate government and their spies," a senior Shebab officer told AFP on condition of anonymity.

He said they will "soon be tried and punished under the Sharia law, they will face the justice court for spying and entering Somalia to assist the enemy of Allah.

"The decision about their fate will depend on the outcome of the Islamic court that will hear the charges against them," he added. The two agents, in Somalia to train government forces, were snatched at gunpoint from their hotel in central Mogadishu early last Tuesday.

Shebab is one of two allied Islamic insurgent groups battling to overthrow the transitional government which is supported by the international community.

Somalia's Social Affairs Minister Mohammed Ali Ibrahim told French news channel France 24 yesterday from Mogadishu that the two men had been taken out of the capital.

"As long as they were here, there were contacts," he said. "Intermediaries were in contact with Shebab and we knew they were in good health, but since this morning they have been taken away."

"We must be concerned about them and take strong action", he added.

He said France was putting pressure on Eritrea, which allegedly arms Shebab and other extremists in Somalia - something Asmara denies - and the Somali government was also sending envoys to Shebab.

"They trade in human beings," Ibrahim said. "Either they kill them or they demand an enormous ransom."

Last Friday, Ibrahim said the "main reason for the kidnapping is that certain Shebab have associates imprisoned in France, pirates."