France: Frenchwoman kidnapped in Kenya and taken to Somalia dies

(CNN) -- A Frenchwoman kidnapped from her holiday home in northern Kenya and taken to Somalia has died, the French Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.

A gang of 10 armed men seized Marie Dedieu this month from her home on Manda Island, prompting a sea battle between Kenyan forces and her abductors.
Kenyan officials sent mediators into Somalia a day later to negotiate her release.

Dedieu lived in a luxury home on the scenic Lamu archipelago for about six months out of the year. Kenyan officials and an acquaintance said the woman, in her 60s, used a wheelchair and was not in good health.   More Read