Gunman in Somalia kidnapped 5 people in another act that shows the growing trade of kidnapping in the country.

From Reuters:

Kidnapping is lucrative business in Somalia, with hostages generally treated well in anticipation of a large ransom.

But the attacks are hampering the operations of aid agencies at a time when U.N. officials say Somalia ranks as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises along with Sudan’s Darfur region, Congo, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Over 1 million of Somalia’s 9 million people live as internal refugees, and their plight has been worsened by record food prices, hyper-inflation and drought.

The insurgency has killed 2,136 civilians so far this year, bringing the death-toll since it began in early 2007 to 8,636, according to a local human rights group.