Somali Gunmen Free Kidnaped U.N. Staffers
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MOGADISHU, Somalia — A group of foreign staff members of the United Nations mission in Somalia were freed Sunday after negotiations with gunmen who took them hostage Saturday, U.N. sources said.
The kidnapers had demanded money that they said they were owed by the United Nations. It was not clear on what grounds they had agreed to free the hostages.
Among those held was chief transport officer Ray Botham, who was back at work Sunday, apparently unharmed.
Somali sources said five people had been held, but a U.N. military spokesman, Maj. Zubair Chattha, on Saturday put the number at 15.
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