A British consultant working for Save the Children in Somalia was abducted by masked gunmen on Thursday night along with his native colleague, the aid agency has said.
The pair were taken from a guest house compound in Adado, a small town close to the border with Ethiopia.
The Somali man was later released.
Anna Ford, a spokesman for the aid agency, said: "Save the Children can confirm that a British national and a Somali national working with the agency were taken by armed gunmen on Thursday night from a guesthouse compound in Adado, a Somali town near the Ethiopian border.
"Save the Children was assessing the feasibility of starting up a humanitarian programme to help malnourished and sick children and their families in the area.
"We are extremely concerned about the welfare of those being held and urgently call upon whoever is holding them captive to release them unconditionally."
A friend of the kidnapped Briton described him as an avid skier and mountaineer who once lived in Canada and had worked for humanitarian organisations for several years.
Several forces have gunmen in the area, including pirate gangs and factions of militias allied to the government.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said officials were "urgently investigating" the kidnapping.
A British consultant working for Save the Children in Somalia was abducted by masked gunmen on Thursday night along with his native colleague, the aid agency has said.
The pair were taken from a guest house compound in Adado, a small town close to the border with Ethiopia.
The Somali man was later released.
Anna Ford, a spokesman for the aid agency, said: "Save the Children can confirm that a British national and a Somali national working with the agency were taken by armed gunmen on Thursday night from a guesthouse compound in Adado, a Somali town near the Ethiopian border.
"Save the Children was assessing the feasibility of starting up a humanitarian programme to help malnourished and sick children and their families in the area.
"We are extremely concerned about the welfare of those being held and urgently call upon whoever is holding them captive to release them unconditionally."
A friend of the kidnapped Briton described him as an avid skier and mountaineer who once lived in Canada and had worked for humanitarian organisations for several years.
Several forces have gunmen in the area, including pirate gangs and factions of militias allied to the government.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said officials were "urgently investigating" the kidnapping.
