Suspected Somali pirates kidnapped an elderly Frenchwoman, Marie Dedieu, on a resort island in northern Kenya early today (October 1). To make matters worse, the victim is often assisted with a wheelchair. As this posting is filed, Kenyan authorities are in pursuit of the pirate boat containing four kidnappers and the kidnap victim. Police also are using aerial surveillance.
COMMENT: The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the woman is in her 60s and was taken by several men who are "most likely from Somalia." If pirates are involved, it would be the second occasion that such attack near the popular tourist town of Lamu has occurred in a month. In early September, pirates shot and killed a British publishing executive and kidnapped his wife, who is still being held captive in Somalia.
Witnesses reportedly heard gunshots around 0300 on Manda Island, where Dedieu lives roughly six months out of the year. Manda Island is just across the channel from Lamu. Of course, the pressing question that most reasonable people would ask is "Why vacation and live within miles of the Somalian border, crawling with pirates, when there are so many equally beautiful places in the world to live"?
Updates will be provided as they become available.
