§ Mr. MaudeTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those(a) British citizens and (b) British citizens with dual nationality who have been kidnapped in Africa from 1 January 1999 to date, indicating the (i) date of the kidnap, (ii) identity or suspected identity, of the kidnappers and (iii) outcome of the kidnaps. [143778]
344W
§ Mr. BattleNot all kidnappings of British national are reported. However, to our knowledge, the following kidnappings have taken place in Africa since 1 January 1999:1999
In January 1999, two British nationals were taken hostage by an Ijaw group. They were later released.
On 9 February 1999, Jim Simpson, a British national, was abducted by local youths in Warri, Nigeria, along with an Italian and a Nigerian. He was released unharmed on 17 February.
On 14 February 1999, Martin Westbury and his young son Benjamin, both British nationals, were abducted by armed youths in Warri, Nigeria. They were released unharmed on 15 February.
On 1 March 1999, Joanne Cotton, Steve Roberts, Mark Lindgren, Martin Friend, Gary Tappenden (all British nationals) and Mark Avis (joint New Zealand/British national) were abducted by Rwandan Interahamwe rebels in Bwindi National Park, western Uganda, along with a number of other Western tourists. Gary Tappenden and Mark Avis found their way to safety; the other four were murdered by their abductors, along with four US and New Zealand tourists.
On 3 March 1999, Ian Lane (British national) was abducted by armed men in Warri, Nigeria. He was later released.
On 8 June 1999, three British nationals were taken hostage by local youths in Nigeria. All were released.
On 20 June 1999, a British national was taken hostage near Port Harcourt in Nigeria, probably by an Ijaw group. He was released on 12 July.
On 3 August 1999, a British national was taken hostage by armed youths in Nigeria. He was released on 10 August.
On 4 August 1999, five British soldiers, who were part of a UN team were taken hostage by a group of former Sierra Leone Army rebels in Sierra Leone. They were released on 8–9 August.
On 7 August 1999, two British nationals were taken hostage by local youths. They were released on 11 August.
On 9 August 1999, two British nationals were taken hostage by local youths in Nigeria. They were released on 11 August.
On 11 August 1999, four British nationals were taken hostage in Liberia by an armed gang. They were released on 13 August.
On 30 September 1999, a British national was taken hostage in Nigeria. He was released on 3 November.
On 11 October 1999, British nationals were kidnapped from their compound in Port Harcourt by local tribesmen. They were all released the next day.
On 9 November 1999, a British national was taken hostage in Ondo State, Nigeria. He was released on 14 November.
345WOn 21 December 1999, a British national was abducted, in Nigeria, by an unknown group. He was subsequently released.
2000
In April 2000, Major Andy Harrison was detained in an area of Sierra Leone controlled by the RUF. He was brought out by the UN on 14 July.
On 7 April 2000, oil company employees were taken hostage by local 'activists' in Nigeria. We believe there were some British nationals involved. The incident was resolved peacefully the same day.
In May 2000, Alan Smith, an aid worker, was taken hostage by RUF in Sierra Leone. He later escaped.
On 16 June 2000, a British national was taken hostage in Nigeria by local people. He was released the same day.
On 13 July 2000, a British national was briefly taken hostage in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was released unharmed.
On 26 July 2000, Jonathan Ward, a British aid worker, was taken hostage by tribesmen in Somalia. He was released on 19 September.
Around 31 July 2000, five British nationals were taken hostage as part of a larger group on two oil rigs in Nigeria. The hostage takers were two local groups. All were released on 4 August.
In August 2000, five British nationals were taken hostage in the Delta Region of Nigeria. They were released on 5 August.
On 25 August 2000, a group of British Army personnel were taken hostage in Sierra Leone by the West Side Boys. They were all released in an operation carried out by UK military forces.
346WOn 26 October 2000, a British national was taken hostage by a local group in Nigeria. He was released the same day.
On 8 November 2000, a British national was taken hostage by local oil company employees in Nigeria. He was released.
On 5 December 2000, a British national was held hostage by Nigerian oil workers on a Nigerian oil platform. He was released unharmed on 6 December.