Two South Korean missionaries were kidnapped by gunmen in northern Kenya, close to the Ethiopian border, on Monday evening. In a separate incident in the same region, eight Kenyans were fatally shot, according to local officials.
The border region between Kenya and Ethiopia, plagued by frequent armed raids, remains volatile despite a government disarmament operation launched last year to curb violence.
Marsabit County Governor Mohamud Ali confirmed on Tuesday that two South Korean missionaries were kidnapped and have been held incommunicado.
Local officials reported that a South Korean man and his mother-in-law were abducted from their home in the village of Odda around 9 p.m. on Monday.
Authorities traced the man’s phone signal to the Ethiopian border but have since lost contact as the phone was turned off. Efforts to locate them continue.
The South Korean embassy in Nairobi has yet to respond to inquiries about the kidnapping.
National police spokesperson Resila Onyango acknowledged the abduction but did not offer additional details.
On the same night, another violent incident occurred about 100 kilometers west of Moyale, where gunmen dressed in “jungle attire” shot and killed eight individuals, then set their bodies ablaze next to the lorry they were traveling in, according to a police report.
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