By New York Mets Jack Kimball and Abdiaziz Hassan NAIROBI

By surveys 1969 world series Jack Kimball david wright diagnoses and Abdiaziz Hassan NAIROBI, July 19 (Reuters) - A string of abductions of foreigners in Somalia have thrown the international spotlight on kidnapping in the anarchic Horn of Africa nation. Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke told Reuters on Sunday that the government had not ruled out any option to rescue two French hostages, and that rebel groups were changing tactics with recent kidnappings [ID:nLJ725520]. Two French security men were seized last week in Mogadishu [ID:nLH40111] then three foreign aid workers at the weekend in a cross-border raid on a Kenyan town [ID:nLI406523] Kidnapping of locals is also a common tactic. Here are some questions and answers about abductions: WHY DID IT START? * Kidnappings became widespread following the overthrow of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and the surge in local warlords controlling fiefdoms in the Somali capital Mogadishu and beyond. Before 1991, abductions were usually of a political nature, carried out by the state to disrupt opposition and to punish dissidents. Siad Barre's administration used torture and assassination to help keep a grip on power.

* The influx of small arms into Somalia following Siad Barre's downfall has significantly contributed to the rise of kidnappings baseball managers . An Indian-made AK-47 costs around $140 and is widely and easily available with little to no state control over who can buy a gun david wright jerseys . Carjackings, armed-robberies and burglary have also emerged as a result of insecurity in Somalia, especially in Mogadishu johan santana jerseys . * Mogadishu is usually the favourite place for kidnappers to operate from keith hernandez . Often, abductors take hostages from remote areas and bring them to the sea-side capital. Mogadishu is the headquarters of many criminal gangs, freelance militias and insurgent groups. All foreign visitors and many Somalis must buy protection from one of the local armed groups.

WHO'S BEHIND THE SEIZURES? * Freelance militias were largely responsible for kidnappings before Ethiopia's invasion in late 2006 to squash a sharia courts movement that took control over the capital and much of the south, analysts say baseball season tickets . These militias are also heavily involved in other criminal activities and sell their services -- armed personnel and vehicles -- to the highest bidder nationals baseball tickets . * Rebels including al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam are sometimes linked to the kidnapping business, analysts say nationals tickets . Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam leaders were together in the Islamic Courts group that controlled much of Somalia in 2006, bringing a level of stability and safety not seen for years david wright . * Somali pirates are arguably the nation's best-known hostage-takers. Buccaneers make millions of dollars annually by seizing commercial and other ships sailing in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. Piracy has ballooned off the Somali coast in recent years where the sea gangs continue to defy foreign navies patrolling the vast shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe.

* Clan militias originally arose out of a desperate need for protection following the chaos and civil war that erupted when Siad Barre was ousted baseball tickets . Somalia is a clan-based society, and minority groups usually face the brunt of clan kidnappings david wright jerseys . WHAT ARE THE MOTIVES? * Rebels and the government are involved in political kidnappings although since President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed took over the presidency from former warlord Abdullahi Yusuf, government-linked abductions have decreased, analysts say johan santana jerseys . Ahmed has also released hostages taken under the former regime . * Foreign captives fetch a higher price than Somali hostages. Kidnappings are a key source of revenue for some groups in the Horn of Africa nation.