Italian volunteer released in Somalia almost 18 months after abduction by Al-Shabaab in Kenya

MOGADISHU, Somalia - An Italian aid worker who was kidnapped by suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen in Kenya two years ago has been released, Rome said on Saturday, thanking the intelligence services for her rescue.

Ms. Silvia Constanca Romano was abducted by the gunmen from Chakama in Kilifi County in November 2018 and has never been seen until news about her whereabouts by Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

On his official Twitter account, the Italian PM announced the release of the aid worker, thanking the intelligence teams for her release. However, he did not delve into finer details about the dramatic incident, which could give hopes to hundreds of families undergoing the same ordeal.

"Silvia Romano has been released. I thank the women and men of the external intelligence services. Silvia, we are waiting for you in Italy," he wrote in a tweet, as roughly translated from his native, Italian.

Multiple reports indicate that Ms. Romano was released by her kidnappers and is currently within the Somalia capital, Mogadishu. It's believed that she spent the 18 months within Al-Shabaab territories in central and southern Somalia, intelligence reports had indicated.

Trained as a medic, Ms. Romano was working for a non-governmental organization; African Milele Onlus, which was operating in Kilifi, a tiny county within Kenya's coastal strip. It's located few miles from Mombasa.

At the time of the attack, at least five residents were left with serious gun wounds, with the militants fleeing to the far north, probably to notorious Boni forest being crossing over to Somalia, reports indicated.

Last year, some reports indicated, the abductors demanded ransom from her family and the Italian government. In 2018, police in Kenya said Ms. Romano, then 23, was alive and was within Kenya.

A year later, the law enforcers also downplayed reports that she had been taken to Somalia by abductors. Since then, police have remained silent about her whereabouts until the statement from the Italian PM on Saturday.

But throughout that period of tribulations, a team of officers from the elite Special Forces from KDF had been trailing the kidnappers, widening the search within Boni forest, Garissa and Tana River, which are prone to Al-Shabaab attacks.

Ibrahim Adan Omar, one of the suspected gunmen and two others, were arrested in connection to the abduction, although they are yet to be formally charged and convicted, police reports indicate.

Cases of abductions by Al-Shabaab are synonymous within northeastern and coastal strips of Kenya, which are favorable due to proximity to war-torn Somalia. In the last one year, at least eleven people have been kidnapped under unclear circumstances, police said.

But perhaps one of the most publicized incidents is that of two Cuban doctors, who were picked from their residence in Mandera County. Last year, Mario Chapman, a top Cuban official, said the two were being held by Al-Shabaab in the Gedo region within Jubaland.

Although there have been claims of ransom demands from government agencies in Kenya, Nairobi dismissed such reports as "misleading and untrue". But there were efforts to use community elders to broker their release.

Just in March, a mechanic working in Mandera was also captured by the militants when they attacked a Moyale-bound bus. To date, local authorities say, he's never been released although "we believe he's alive and helping them with technical work".

An intelligence report recently revealed that the militants rarely kill experts after the abduction, and have often used them to their advantage, as part of their strategy to expand their command and perhaps conquer more territories using intricate techniques.

Despite their heavy presence across the border, Al-Shabaab largely remains a neutralized force, suffering heavy casualties within their territories due to increased ground combats and unending US airstrikes in Somalia.

GAROWE ONLINE