FOUR aid workers abducted on Friday morning by Somali gunmen from the Ifo2 refugee camp were rescued on Saturday afternoon by a contingent of the Kenya Defence Forces and Ras Kamboni fighters.

The Norwegian Refugee Council employees: 33-year-old Astrid Sehl of Norway, 40-year-old Philippine, Glenn Costes, Canadian Steven Dennis, 37 and Canadian citizen of Pakistani origin Horat Sadosay, 38, arrived at Wilson airport from Dhobley KDF military base a few minutes past three pm aboard a military Puma helicopter.

They were taken to the VIP lounge and later driven away in a mini bus to an undisclosed location. They were met at the airport by Canadian, Philippines, and Norwegian diplomats for debriefing. The NRC vehicle used by the abductors broke down forcing them to spend the night in the bush. The next day acting on intelligence, KDF and the Somalia National Army troops located the abductors and the foreign aid workers at Abu Gule village and laid an ambush.

One of the abductors was killed and four escaped. "We are happy we are back. We are happy to be alive," was all Horat Sadosay who was the team leader said on arrival at Wilson airport. "We are happy and relieved that our employees have been found and have been freed," Elisabeth Rasmusson, the aid group's secretary general who was at the camp when the incident happened told a news conference in Oslo.