A HEREFORD aid worker kidnapped by gunmen in Somalia has arrived in Kenya after being freed with a fellow hostage.

Bill Condie and colleague Roger Carter flew in to Nairobi on a United Nations plane last night after being held for 10 days.

The pair, who work for the UN Children's Agency, were said to be unharmed and "in good condition". They were captured on Tuesday, March 27, in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Hereford MP Paul Keetch said he was "delighted" 61-year-old Mr Condie had been released.

"We must thank the UN for all the work they've done on the ground to secure the release of these aid workers," he added.

Mr Condie's mother Effie, 91, whose son had been kidnapped once before in Somalia, said she was overjoyed at the news and believed he would continue working overseas despite the two kidnapping ordeals.

Speaking from her home in Alva, Clackmannanshire, she said she had suffered stomach complaints and loss of sleep over the last week as she waited for news.

"He loves it out there and he's not wanting to come back, he says it's beautiful. This won't stop Billy. No, he'll keep going on, he loves his job," she added.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We're very pleased to hear they have been released and are in good health. We are grateful to the UN for their work in securing their release."

Mr Condie, who now lives in Kenya, and Mr Carter were with seven other international aid workers when their convoy was attacked outside the compound of the humanitarian agency, Medecins sans Frontieres, in northern Mogadishu.

Two other UN workers were also briefly held by the gunmen loyal to faction leader Musa Sudi Yalahow, who opposes the new interim government of President Abdiqassim Salad Hassan. They were released last week.

Mr Condie was previously kidnapped by gunmen in the country in 1996.

War-ravaged Somalia had no central government for most of the 1990s, following a coup in 1991 which left factional leaders holding sway in different parts of the country.

Last year, a new central government was set up with Abdiqassim Salad Hassan as president.

Musa Sudi Yalahow boycotted the peace conference which set up the new government and later formed the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council with other factional leaders.

A HEREFORD aid worker kidnapped by gunmen in Somalia has arrived in Kenya after being freed with a fellow hostage.

Bill Condie and colleague Roger Carter flew in to Nairobi on a United Nations plane last night after being held for 10 days.

The pair, who work for the UN Children's Agency, were said to be unharmed and "in good condition". They were captured on Tuesday, March 27, in the Somali capital Mogadishu.

Hereford MP Paul Keetch said he was "delighted" 61-year-old Mr Condie had been released.

"We must thank the UN for all the work they've done on the ground to secure the release of these aid workers," he added.

Mr Condie's mother Effie, 91, whose son had been kidnapped once before in Somalia, said she was overjoyed at the news and believed he would continue working overseas despite the two kidnapping ordeals.

Speaking from her home in Alva, Clackmannanshire, she said she had suffered stomach complaints and loss of sleep over the last week as she waited for news.

"He loves it out there and he's not wanting to come back, he says it's beautiful. This won't stop Billy. No, he'll keep going on, he loves his job," she added.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We're very pleased to hear they have been released and are in good health. We are grateful to the UN for their work in securing their release."

Mr Condie, who now lives in Kenya, and Mr Carter were with seven other international aid workers when their convoy was attacked outside the compound of the humanitarian agency, Medecins sans Frontieres, in northern Mogadishu.

Two other UN workers were also briefly held by the gunmen loyal to faction leader Musa Sudi Yalahow, who opposes the new interim government of President Abdiqassim Salad Hassan. They were released last week.

Mr Condie was previously kidnapped by gunmen in the country in 1996.

War-ravaged Somalia had no central government for most of the 1990s, following a coup in 1991 which left factional leaders holding sway in different parts of the country.

Last year, a new central government was set up with Abdiqassim Salad Hassan as president.

Musa Sudi Yalahow boycotted the peace conference which set up the new government and later formed the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council with other factional leaders.