BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

06/05/2007

Update: Woman of Belarusian origin abducted in Nigeria

MINSK/MOSCOW, May 6 (RIA Novosti) - Gunmen have kidnapped a woman of Belarusian origin working for a British company in Nigeria, the foreign ministries of Russia and Belarus said Sunday.

The woman who worked as a senior executive for the local branch of British services company Compass Group was abducted Saturday night in Nigeria's main oil city of Port Harcourt, Viktor Goncharov, an adviser to the Russian embassy in the African country, said over the phone.

"She is married to a Nigerian. She was kidnapped at an oil field yesterday." Goncharov said.

Western news agencies had earlier reported that a Russian woman had been kidnapped in Nigeria.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry confirmed Sunday that a Belarus national had been abducted in Nigeria.

"We have just received a notice from the Belarusian embassy in Great Britain through diplomatic channels that a citizen of Belarus has been kidnapped in Nigeria," the ministry's spokesman said.

Militants fighting against the Nigerian government for greater autonomy in the oil-rich Niger Delta have intensified their attacks lately on oil industry facilities that are largely operated by western companies.

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Belarus will turn to Russia for assistance in releasing the kidnapped woman as the country has no diplomatic mission in Nigeria.

The latest kidnapping has brought the total number of foreign worker abductions in Nigeria to 28 in five days. Eight hostages have already been released.

Source:

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070506/64979738.html

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