{"id":16366,"date":"2025-03-27T23:42:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T23:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=16366"},"modified":"2025-03-29T10:46:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T10:46:50","slug":"german-nurse-abducted-and-held-in-somalia-for-7-years-pleads-for-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2025\/03\/27\/german-nurse-abducted-and-held-in-somalia-for-7-years-pleads-for-release\/","title":{"rendered":"German nurse abducted and held in Somalia for 7 years pleads for release"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NAIROBI —<\/strong> A German nurse abducted while working in Somalia seven years ago has pleaded with the German government to secure her release as security in the country continues to be fluid after an attempted assassination<\/span>\u00a0on the president by al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants.<\/p>\n

In a video shared on social media, a visibly distressed Sonja Nientiet says her health has deteriorated and that what has kept her going is the hope that she\u2019ll see her loved ones.<\/p>\n

Nientiet was\u00a0taken from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) compound<\/span>\u00a0in Somalia\u2019s capital, Mogadishu through a back door on May 3, 2018. Authorities in Somalia later said it was an inside job by a disgruntled former employee.<\/p>\n

ICRC spokesperson Christian Cardon said the video provided \u201chope for her release\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ICRC will continue to work tirelessly, with all its influence, for this outcome,\u201d he said in statement, adding that the ICRC was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d for Nientiet\u2019s health and the priority was to have her quickly released unharmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order not to undermine these, we cannot provide further information about the abduction, nor comment about its circumstances,\u201d Cardon said.<\/p>\n

Nientiet, who speaks calmly in English with a German accent in the video, has visibly aged from photos of her younger self. She wipes her tears while talking about her rescue being a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n

Not much has been reported about Nientiet since her abduction and this is only the second video she has been seen in after a first one in 2018.<\/p>\n

German Foreign Ministry said that the government does not comment on hostage cases involving German citizens abroad as a matter of principle.<\/p>\n

The security situation in Somalia remains fluid with recent attacks by al-Shabab the latest being last week\u2019s attack targeting a presidential convoy.<\/p>\n

The Somali government has intensified its military campaign against al-Shabab in recent months, with troops making territorial gains in Middle Shabelle and other regions.<\/p>\n

Source: AP\u00a0 \u00a0Origin: view original<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI — A German nurse abducted while working in Somalia seven years ago has pleaded with the German government to secure her release as security in the country continues to be fluid after an attempted assassination\u00a0on the president by al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants. In a video shared on social media, a visibly distressed Sonja Nientiet says …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,24,1,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-health-cluster","category-international-humanitarian-law","category-news","category-nutrition-cluster"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t