Gov’t Rules Out KSh150 Million Ransom Talks With Al-shabaab Over Abducted Cuban Medics

The Kenyan government has ruled out ransom talks with Al-Shabaab militia to secure release of abducted Cuban doctors.

Instead, Foreign Affairs cabinet Secretary Monicah Juma revealed on Tuesday that the government will use other operations to secure the freedom of the two medics.

“We believe that we’ll secure their release in the ongoing security operation but as a matter of polity the government does not negotiate ransom. We’re hopeful that we shall retrieve the doctors safely back home,” the CS said during a joint media briefing with European Union (EU) High Representative Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini.

Also Read:Al-Shabaab Demand Ksh150 Million Ransom To Release Cuban Doctors

Doctors Landy Rodriguez and Herera Correa were ambushed in Mandera County on their way to work by suspected Al-Shabaab militants.

The Ksh150 million demand was communicated last week 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.

In her bilateral remarks on Tuesday, the CS appealed to the European Union to have the militia group listed as a terrorist organization under the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1267 of 1999.

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

“In combating global terrorism and sustaining the painful gains, we urge you to support Kenya in listing the Al Shabaab as a terrorism organization under the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSC) 1267,” she urged.

During the April 12 attack, the medic’s bodyguard was fatally injured, as the two were whisked away into a waiting getaway car.

Last week, the local leaders said the medics were safe and sound.

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

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

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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