Somalia: UN suspends work in capital after kidnappers fail to release staff member

The United Nations announced today that it was suspending all activities in the Somali capital of Mogadishu after kidnappers refused to release an abducted UN staff member.

"It is with regret that activities designed to assist all the people of Mogadishu are being suspended due to these unlawful actions by a few individuals - but this position is being taken in support of our abducted colleague and will be maintained until he is released unharmed and without preconditions," Maxwell Gaylard, the lead UN official for Somalia, said in a statement from Nairobi.

Professor Mohamed Ali Abokor was abducted on 28 April and has been held at an undisclosed location since.

Mr. Gaylard, who is the UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia/Designated Official and Resident Representative of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), said the UN was "increasingly concerned" about Prof. Abokor, who had a serious medical condition.

Prof. Abokor is the coordinator for the UNDP Capacity Building Project in Mogadishu, one of a range of humanitarian operations mounted in the city and greater urban area by UN agencies that support governance and civil society, and include interventions in health, water and sanitation, education and teacher training.