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    October 19, 2011

French Woman Kidnapped in Somalia Dies

   VOA News
   French woman Marie Dedieu (undated photo)
   Photo: AFP
   French woman Marie Dedieu (undated photo)

   France's foreign ministry says an elderly French woman kidnapped by
   suspected Somali militants in Kenya earlier this month has died.
   French officials who had been negotiating for the release of Marie
   Dedieu said Wednesday that unspecified contacts informed them of her
   death.
   Officials say Dedieu probably died because she was not given her
   medication for cancer and heart problems, which she was required to
   take every few hours.
   Dedieu was in her mid-60's and used a wheelchair, which the kidnappers
   did not take with them.
   Unidentified gunmen kidnapped Dedieu from her private beach home in
   northern Kenya on October 1.
   On Sunday, Kenyan authorities launched a military operation into
   neighboring Somalia to hunt down members of the Somali insurgent group
   al-Shabab, which Kenya holds responsible for Dedieu's kidnapping.
   Kenya also suspects al-Shabab is involved in the recent abductions of a
   British tourist and two Spanish aid workers from Kenyan territory.
   The Kenyan military forces are facing heavy rains and muddy terrain as
   they advance into at least two regions of southern Somalia.
   On Wednesday, Kenyan troops were reportedly closing in on the
   al-Shabab-controlled town of Afmadow in Somalia's Jubba region, where
   residents are said to have been fleeing in fear of a battle.
   Officials and witnesses told VOA Somali Service on Tuesday that Kenyan
   troops, backed by helicopters, had also passed through the Somali
   border town of El-Waq and advanced to Somalia's Gedo region.
   In the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, Kenyan and Somali
   government officials pledged to carry out "coordinated pre-emptive
   action" against "armed elements" that threaten both countries. The
   agreement appeared to limit Kenyan military action to Somalia's Lower
   Jubba region.
   A suicide car bomb on Tuesday killed at least five people and wounded
   nine others near Somalia's foreign ministry, where the high-level
   meeting was taking place. There has been no claim of responsibility for
   the attack.
   Meanwhile, Kenyan police are stepping up security measures after
   al-Shabab promised on Monday to attack Kenyan targets unless the
   government withdraws its troops from Somali territory.
   Al-Shabab has denied responsibility for the abductions, and has called
   on Somalis to defend against what it says are Kenyan "aggressors" and
   "occupiers."