The Catholic Bishop of Djibouti, Monsignor Giorgio Bertini has said that the kidnappers of the two Italian Missionary sisters were mere vandals and not part of an organized group.

The bishop, who is also the Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu, told the news agency Fides that knowing the Kenya-Somali border quite well "I am inclined to the hypothesis that it is simply an act carried out by vandals. In fact, there are vandals in the area that perform raids on the livestock. I think that just as there are Somali pirates along the coasts, there are vandals who decide to kidnap Westerners for ransom money".

On Monday, two Italian nuns, Sr. Caterina Giraudo and Sr. Maria Teresa Olivero, of the Contemplative Missionary Movement of Charles de Foucauld, of Cuneo (Italy), were kidnapped from their mission in El-Wak, a town in north-eastern Kenya, which is located about 10km from the Somali border. There is still no word as to the identity of the kidnappers.

Bertini added that it is highly unlikely that the kidnappers are Islamic extremists wanting to combat the Western and Christian presence in the area.