索马里歹徒释放劫持的英国救援人员

A British security consultant kidnapped six days ago by gunmen in Somalia has been released, the charity Save the Children says.

慈善组织救助儿童会称，六天前在索马里被持枪歹徒劫持的一名英国安全顾问已经被释放。

Zimbabwean-born Frans Barnard was seized in the town of Adado last Thursday. A local colleague seized with him was freed the next day.

Save the Children denied that any ransom（赎金） was paid for his release, as one local elder had said.

The charity said Mr Barnard was now heading to a place of safety.

"No ransom was paid. His release happened through negotiations," local official Mohamed Mohamud told Reuters news agency.

'Relatively safe area'

Frans Barnard had gone to the area to see if it was safe enough for Save the Children to set up a new base to help malnourished（营养不良的） and sick children, along with their families.

But on Thursday evening, a group of masked gunmen stormed the building used as a staff residence.

High walls and a heavy steel gate reportedly forced the kidnappers to climb in through a window before they fled with their hostages into an area said to be controlled by the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda.

Adado, which is near the Ethiopian border, is also closely linked to pirate groups who routinely take ships and crew hostage and demand hefty（重的，肌肉发达的） ransoms.

Until now, Adado had been seen as a relatively stable part of Somalia, with aid groups considering relocating there after being forced out of more volatile regions.

Several foreigners have been kidnapped in Somalia in recent years.

Most have been freed unhurt after a ransom has been paid.