French hostage kills captors to escape

One of a pair of French security agents kidnapped by insurgents in Somalia last month has escaped, officials said today.

He is believed to have killed three of his captors.

The agent is safe in the presidential palace and “in a good mood”, said the assistant information secretary of the presidential palace, Abdulkadir Hussein Wehliye.

Farhan Asanyo, a government military officer, said the man unexpectedly came up to government soldiers early today, identified himself and said he had escaped.

“The man told them that he was one of the French officials held by militants,” Mr Asanyo said.

“He said he escaped after killing three of his captors, and we sent him to the presidential palace.”

The fate of the other captive is not immediately clear.

The French men were abducted in July from a hotel in the capital Mogadishu. They were in the country to train Somali government forces.

Militants had said the two would be tried under Islamic law for alleged spying and conspiracy against Islam.