Australian pilot detained in Somali

MOGADISHU (Reuter): Somali militiamen have detained an Australian pilot after impounding his light aircraft in Hudur, south of the capital, Mogadishu, a militia radio said yesterday.

Radio Mogadishu, quoting a spokesman for Somali faction leader Mohamed Farah Aideed, said militia loyal to Aideed had detained the pilot on May 25 after his Cessna aircraft landed at Hudur, 530 km (330 miles) south of Mogadishu.

The radio did not name the pilot nor say whether he was travelling alone.

A Reuters reporter based in south Mogadishu said other sources in the capital said the plane, carrying two Somali passengers, had developed mechanical problems before landing at Hudur.

They said it had left from Nairobi and had first landed at Beletwein, the capital of Hiran region, 350 km (210 miles) north of Mogadishu.

A spokesman for the Australian Embassy in Nairobi said he was unaware of any missing Australian