Two Cuban doctors who were kidnapped in Kenya and held for over a year in Somalia have been released after months of negotiations.
Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez confirmed that al Shabaab militia freed Landy Rodriguez (a surgeon) and Herera Correa (general practitioner) over the weekend.
“I had a telephone conversation with the Foreign Minister of Somalia Mr. Ahmed Isse Awad. I appreciated the support and efforts of your government to guarantee the safe return of our kidnapped doctors. We highlight the will to strengthen bilateral ties between the two governments,” he said on Twitter.
According to the Washington Post, it still remains unclear where the two doctors were taken after their release.
The two Cuban doctors were abducted while on their way to work in April 2019 and their bodyguard killed during the incident.
The abducted doctors had been among 100 Cuban specialists who arrived in the country in June 2018.
A month later, Citizen TV visited the doctors in Mandera after reports emerged that local medics had fled the area in fear of terror attacks.
The two doctors seemed to have settled in well at the Mandera Referral Hospital.
Dr. Rodriguez revealed that he was initially anxious about working in Mandera after reading about al Shabaab attacks before he travelled to Kenya.
His counterpart Dr. Correa however said he had worked in dangerous territories before so his new assignment was not any different.
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