Kingsley Kobo, AfricaNews reporter in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Three Spanish humanitarian workers were kidnapped in Mauritania on Sunday afternoon. The three Spanish nationals - two men and a woman - were aboard the last vehicle of a convoy that was heading from Nouadhibou to Nouakchott when they were attacked.
According to a Mauritanian security source, the kidnappers fired several shots to force the vehicle to stop and then took the Spaniards away in a 4x4 vehicle, Reuters said.
A spokesman for the Spanish humanitarian group, Barcelona-Accio Solidaria, confirmed the three were members of their association and named them as Albert Vilalta, Alicia Gamez and Roque Pascual.
Mauritania’s ministry of defence said the attack took place near the town of Chelkhett Legtouta, 170 kilometres (106 miles) north of Nouakchott, and that army unit in the area were searching for the kidnappers, and reinforcements had been sent to the area.
The incident came four days after a French citizen was kidnapped in the north-east of neighbouring Mali. Malian security sources say Al-Qaeda militants are involved.
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