French officials abducted in Somalia

The Foreign Ministry did not identify the two men or specify which branch of the French government had dispatched them to Somalia. But it said in an announcement that they were in Mogadishu on “an official mission’’ to assist the Western-backed government of President Sharif Ahmed in “security matters.’’

A senior official in Ahmed’s government told Agence France-Presse, the main French news agency, that the two men had arrived in Mogadishu nine days ago, invited by the Somali Defense Ministry to train “their counterparts in Somali intelligence agencies.’’

The men were staying at the Hotel Sahafi International, which over the years has gained a reputation as headquarters for foreign correspondents covering the violence that has ripped Somalia apart in recent years. In more recent times, however, few Western journalists have ventured into Mogadishu, where the official police and army are weak, heavily armed factions often rule the streets, and kidnapping is a constant danger.

The hotel manager, Mohamed Mohamed, told news agencies that the two French abductees registered at the hotel as journalists on their arrival last week. He said a dozen armed men showed up Tuesday morning and, after disarming the hotel guards, searched the hotel door to door until they found their targets and bundled them off.

France has had no diplomatic representation in Mogadishu since June 1993, when a United Nations-led effort to impose peace on Somalia’s warring factions led to disaster. Since then, like many of its Western counterparts, the French government has handled its diplomatic business with Somalia from the French Embassy in Nairobi, the capital of neighboring Kenya.

Some African and Western countries, including the United States, have backed Ahmed’s transitional government against its Islamic opponents, largely out of fear that Somalia could provide safe haven to terrorist groups. But despite help from Ethiopia, he has been unable to assert firm control over the country, which harbors wanted terrorist figures and groups of pirates preying on vessels that pass through the Gulf of Aden.

France’s role in providing security assistance to his forces was not widely known in Paris. The abduction took place as France celebrated its National Day with a large military parade down the Champs Elysees and a garden party at the Elysee Palace, the official residence of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In a television interview for the occasion, Sarkozy went out of his way to praise the French military. He reminded viewers that his government has increased spending for modern military equipment, even though the manpower totals are being reduced. “The French army is professional, competent, devoted,’’ he said. “It does an absolutely remarkable job.’’

The report that the two kidnapped men had posed as journalists was received with alarm and some puzzlement by media advocacy groups.

“This accusation, while unconfirmed, is troubling,’’ said Robert Mahoney, deputy director of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. “Our position is that intelligence officers posing as journalists jeopardizes the security of all journalists.’’ Six journalists have been killed in Somalia this year, bringing the toll to 15 since 2007, the committee said.