Silvia Romano, an Italian aid worker kidnapped 18 months ago in East Africa, landed in Rome on Sunday, May 10 a day after being freed. Romano was working for an Italian Charity called African Milele in Northern Kenya before she was accosted and kidnapped by armed men in 2018.
She was found in Somalia, some 30 km (19 miles) outside the capital of Mogadishu, and was released thanks to efforts by the external intelligence agency, Italy’s Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said.
Romano has now touched down at Rome’s Ciampino airport aboard a special flight at about 2 p.m. (1200 GMT). Escorted by masked men from the intelligence service, she temporarily removed her protective mask to wave as descended the steps from the jet before hugging relatives waiting for her at the airport.
She was greeted by the Italian Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte and Di Maio.
Romano is expected to meet prosecutors in Rome later on Sunday. “I was strong, and resisted,” Romano was quoted by Italian newspapers as saying after her release.
Prime Minister Conte said that the task force working to free Romano had been in the final stages “for the last months”, after having proof that she was still alive. He added that details were not revealed so as to not compromise the operation.
Italian newspapers reported that Italy’s intelligence services had worked with their Somali and Turkish counterparts to free Romano.
