Mogadishu  - Two Kenyans working at a printing shop in the Somali capital of Mogadishu were abducted by a group of masked gunmen, witnesses told the German Press Agency dpa Monday.

The two men - one a Muslim, the other a Christian - were forced to leave by the 12 gunmen late Sunday. "Nobody knows about their whereabouts," a neighbouring shopkeeper told dpa.

It was not clear if the abduction was a simply kidnapping or if there were political motives for it.

The radical Muslim al-Shabaab group, which seeks to overthrow the government, has accused Kenya several times in recent weeks of sending fighters to Somalia to support the wobbly regime. The war- torn country has not had an effective government since 1991.(dpa)