Canada Press

OTTAWA -- Canada's Department of Foreign Affairs said Saturday it is investigating international wire service reports that a Canadian was one of two Western freelance journalists kidnapped in Somalia.

"The High Commission of Canada in Kenya is aware of news reports indicating that a Canadian and an Australian journalist are missing in Somalia," said Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Eugenie Cormier-Lassonde. "Consular officials are in contact with local authorities in an attempt to confirm these reports."

According to a Reuters news service report, the as-yet unidentified pair are believed to have been abducted during a visit to camps for displaced civilians at Elasha, south of the capital city of Mogadishu.

"We heard that unknown gunmen abducted two foreign journalists, a white man and a white woman," Fatuma Ali, a primary school teacher in Elasha, told Reuters by telephone.

Mohamed Ajos, the head of security at Mogadishu's Shamo Hotel, where the pair had been staying, said the two were freelance journalists and identified them only as Nigel, a 27-year-old Australian man, and Amanda, 26, a Canadian. He had no further details.

"They left us this morning to visit internally displaced camps on the outskirts of Mogadishu," Ajos told Reuters. "Now they are nowhere to be found. They were accompanied by a Somali translator and were to visit parts of Lower Shabelle region."

In Ottawa, meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Department advises against all travel in Somalia. The travel advisory, updated July 11 and still valid now, cautions that "Canadians in this country should leave."

The advisory goes on to say that "Canadians who are in Somalia despite this warning, and who are confronted with an emergency, will have to make their way to the nearest embassy or consulate of Canada, or rely on their own resources."

Foreign Affairs also warns: "There is a high security threat in Somalia. Killings and kidnappings continue to occur in all areas of the country and there have been targeted assassinations of foreigners, including journalists, human rights activists, and humanitarian workers."

"The rule of law is virtually non-existent. Outbreaks of violence can arise unpredictably and parties involved are often armed. These violent incidents have resulted in civilian casualties."

© Canwest News Service 2008