Kenyan Police Detain 14 People Over Kidnapping of Italian Citizen - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Kenyan police have detained 14 people as part of an investigation into the kidnapping of a 23-year-old Italian national Sylvia Constanza Romano, a volunteer at a non-governmental organization, by a group of armed militants, La Repubblica reported on Thursday.

Romano was abducted on Tuesday in Kenya's coastal Kilifi County. Romano has been involved in a number of projects in Kenya to help children through Africa Milele Onlus charity. According to media reports, a group of four to five armed men speaking Somali language kidnapped the volunteer and wounded five other people, including children.

The detained people could have been in contact with the attackers, according to La Repubblica newspaper. The newspaper also reported citing local police chief that there was no evidence that the incident was terror-related.

Italian #humanitarian worker #SylviaConstanzaRomano was kidnapped by armed suspected Somali Islamist individuals that opened fire in #Chakama town, Kilifi county, in south-eastern #Kenya. Five people, including children, were reported injured in the attack. pic.twitter.com/U6NyZ0mw1p

— ICESERVE24™ (@ICESERVE24) November 21, 2018

​Sources in the Italian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Wednesday that the ministry's crisis group was dealing with the issue.