Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ethiopia Closes Somalia Embassy After Incident

Compiled From Wire Services

Ethiopia closed its embassy in Mogadishu on Monday, a day after kidnappers released its charge d’affaires unharmed after 21 days in captivity.

Yamani Abdi’s abductors said they had sought compensation for a truckload of electronic equipment Ethiopian customs agents seized at a border post.

The Ethiopian government said the kidnappers were smugglers trying to evade legitimate customs duties.

The Ethiopian government made no official statement, but Ambassador Lisane Yohanes, Yamani and the embassy’s only other Ethiopian employee left Monday, and sources said they would not return.

The departure of the Ethiopians leaves only Sudan and the Palestine Liberation Organization with a diplomatic presence in Somalia.