Abducted UN staff member freed in Somalia

United Nations staff member Rolf Helmrich has been released more than a week after being abducted by an armed militia in the south of Somalia.

In a statement yesterday the UN confirmed the release of Mr. Helmrich, a national of Germany who is now recuperating with his family in Nairobi in neighbouring Kenya.

Mr. Helmrich – one of a team of UN field security officers responsible for the safety of UN staff in Somalia – was kidnapped by an armed militia on 29 January between Jamaame and Kismaayo in the Lower Juba region of Somalia.

On Saturday night he was released into the custody of senior officials of the Juba Valley Alliance, the de facto authority in the region. The UN thanked the Alliance for its role in securing Mr. Helmrich’s release.