Five Red Cross worker skilled by Somali mine

GENEVA (AP) - Five Red Cross workers died and three were injured when their vehicle hit a mine in a remote area of northern Somalia last Friday, the Red Cross said yesterday.

Three of the dead were Somalis working for the organisation and the identities of the other two were not immediately known, said a spokesman for the organisation's headquarters, Pierre Gauthier. All the injured were brought to hospitals in the region, one in critical condition, he said.

The team of veterinarians was travelling in Hargeisa province vaccinating nomads' animal herds, Mr Gauthier said. Their vehicle hit a mine at Laas Abod. The area is about 500 miles north of the capital, Mogadishu. 'The region was considered safe,' Mr Gauthier said. 'This has completely floored us.' He said he had no further details on the incident.