Ohio Somalis cheer rescue, worry about homeland

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The leader of a community advocacy group says the U.S. rescue of two hostages in Somalia is uplifting news for Ohio Somalis, although the kidnappings underscored their worries about their homeland.

Jibril (Juh-BRILL’) Mohamed (Mo-HAHM’-ed) heads SomaliCan in Columbus. He says he and other members of the central Ohio community are glad the rescue went successfully. He called the captors among the “violent criminals” who are victimizing the entire population of Somalia. He says he and other Somalis are unable to safely return to their homeland because of the danger.

His group has a previously scheduled two-day conference this weekend on the Ohio State University campus to discuss Somalia, with topics including political instability, humanitarian needs and U.S. policy.

Ohio has the nation’s second-largest Somali population, behind Minnesota.

The Associated Press