Somali kidnappers say holding aid workers for now

MOGADISHU, May 15 (Reuters) Kidnappers in Somalia's semi-autonomous Puntland region will hold two foreign aid workers seized last week until local authorities resolve ''minor'' political problems, their leader said today.

The pair, a Briton and a Kenyan, work for the CARE International relief agency and were abducted on Wednesday some 120 km south of Puntland's main port Bossasso.

''The hostages are safe and are in our hands,'' the leader of the kidnappers, who identified himself only as Mohamed, told Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location.

''We kidnapped them because of minor problems between us and Puntland. We will continue to hold them until those grievances are fully addressed.'' He gave no other details. Local residents said a minister from the kidnappers' clan was recently fired from the Puntland administration under unclear circumstances.

There have also been suggestions the aid workers were seized for use as a bargaining chip in a dispute between fishermen and the local authorities over impounded fishing vessels.

On Sunday, the captors had threatened to kill the two men if the Puntland authorities tried to rescue them. Today, Mohamed said they were in good health.

''They are not prisoners ... They eat well, drink well and are treated well. They are just a means for us to reach our goal.'' Contacted on the same number later, a man who identified himself as Mohamed's deputy echoed his boss's message.

''We are not after ransom,'' the man said. ''We are just using them as a tool to negotiate with Puntland ... We will not harm them since they are important to our demands.'' Puntland runs itself independently of the rest of Somalia and has been more peaceful than most areas in recent years.

But the whole country, which has been deprived of effective central rule for 16 years, is dangerous for aid workers.

Today, gunmen attacked a UN World Health Organisation office in the capital Mogadishu, wounding a guard just two days after UN aid chief John Holmes cut short a visit to the city after bombs planted by insurgents killed three people.

REUTERS RJ VV1933