(Sh.M.Network)- Kenyan security forces on Saturday scoured border regions with war-tornSomaliain the hunt for armed kidnappers who seized four foreign aid workers from Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp.The two men and two women, who work with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), come from Canada,Norway,Pakistainand the Philippines. A Kenyan driver was killed and two others were maimed during Friday's attack.
"The search is intensifying and more security forces have been sent to make every effort possible but, so far, no one has been recovered," Kenyan army front man Cyrus Oguna told AFP.
Aerial searches were ongoing using both military helicopters and aircraft, while vehicles and troops on foot searched the remote scrubland either side of the mostly non-existent border withSomalia.
Kenya, which invaded southern Somaliain October to attack Al Qaeda linked Islamist beturbanned goons, has troops some 120 kilometres (75 miles) deep into Somalia. However,
the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach...
the forces control only pockets of the vast territory.
While many fear the gunnies and their hostages crossed swiftly intoSomalia-- only some 100 kilometres from Dadaab -- Oguna said he was still hopeful they remained inside Kenya.
"We are thinking that they are inKenya, we are making every effort that we can, and we are hopeful of a positive outcome," he added.
The aid workers' vehicle, which the gunnies stole after killing the driver, was found abandoned a few hours after the attack. Similar abductions in the past have seen the gunnies disappear into the bush to evade capture.
NRC is working to support some 465,000 inhabitants in the Dadaab complex, which constitutes Kenya's third-biggest town in terms of population.
The kidnapping is the latest in a series of attacks in Dadaab, where gunnies last October seized two Spaniards working for Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). They are still being held hostage in Somalia.
The abduction of the Spaniards was one of the incidents that spurredKenya to send troops and tanks into Somalia to fight the Al-Shabaab
... the personification of Somali state failure...
forces of Evil Nairobi blames for abductions and for cross-border raids.
However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things...
Kenyahas also voiced concern that Dadaab, too, poses a security threat, and has blocked registration of new refugees to the camp.
"The information we have is that the attackers came from the camp, and it raises serious questions that if they were refugees, how they got into the camp armed," Kenyan Defence Minister Yousuf Haji said.
Al-Shabaab still control large parts of southern Somalia, despite recent losses to African Union
...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful...
troops, government forces and Æthiopian soldiers, who have wrested several key bases from the beturbanned goons.
Representatives of the countries of those kidnapped said they were ensuring every effort was being made to secure the release of the aid workers.
"We are pursuing all appropriate channels... We will not comment or release any information which may compromise these efforts," said Canadian foreign ministry front man Claude Rochon, adding that the "first priority is the safety and security" of its citizens.
Philippine foreign affairs front man Raul Hernandez said the embassy in Nairobi had asked the Kenyan government for assistance, and was coordinating with the embassies of the other hostages.
Since the 1991 ouster of then president Mohammad Siad Barre,Somalia has been variously governed by ruthless warlords and militia groups, each controlling their own limited fiefdoms.
Hundreds of thousands of Somalis have fled to neighbouring countries since the collapse of a formal government two decades ago, while crippling drought and famine racked the lawless nation last year.