Authorities in Kenya withdrew 10 Cuban doctors from the northeastern region, where suspected Al-Shabaab gunmen abducted two medics last week and moved them into neighboring Somalia. (Image: illustration).

The doctors were recalled from Wajir, Tana River, Garissa, Isiolo and Lamu counties, according to the Kenyan Ministry of Health. The regions are either along or next to those at Kenya’s border with Somalia, where the al-Shabaab militants are active.

The Kenyan government hired 100 Cuban doctors last year to boost healthcare in the country’s underserved areas. The two abducted were based in Mandare county. Elders from the area followed the suspected militants into Somalia to negotiate release of the doctors, Nairobi-based Star newspaper reported.