Al-Shabaab Demand Ksh150 Million Ransom To Release Cuban Doctors

Al-Shabaab militants holding two Cuban doctors kidnapped in Mandera County are now demanding Ksh150 million for safe return of the medics.

The ransom demand was communicated through local elders  who traveled to a remote place between the towns of Buale and El-Ade in Jubaland region of Somalia, where they were last spotted.

Following the two-day meeting, the elders confirmed Doctors Landy Rodriguez and Herera Correa were safe and sound.

Read: Government Recalls Cuban Doctors From Garissa, Wajir Counties, Over Safety Concerns

However, the two are forcibly working under the the militant group’s control.

Sources privy to the matter claim the North-Eastern regional administration has sent back the elders to renegotiate the ransom.

The two medics were ambushed on April 12 on their way to work by suspected Al-Shabaab militants. Their bodyguard was shot dead as they were dragged into a getaway vehicle.

Also Read: Cuban Doctors Posted In Lamu County Leave Abruptly After Colleagues’ Abduction

Intelligence reports, however, reveals that the two might have been kidnapped by a bandit group and handed over to the Al-Shabaab.

The abducted doctors are among 100 Cuban specialists who arrived in the country in June 2018.

The attack necessitated the transfer of Cuban Doctors from Wajir, Tana River and Garissa counties over safety concern.

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