UPDATE 1-Two Canadian aid workers kidnapped at golf club in Ghana - police

Two Canadian women working for a local aid agency were kidnapped at a golf club in central Ghana this week, the police said on Thursday.

The police statement did not name the victims of the kidnapping at the Kumasi Royal Golf Club, but gave their ages as 19 and 20. They did not say when it happened, only that the complaint came in late on Tuesday. The pair were volunteering for the Youth Challenge International NGO in Ghana, the statement said.

Kidnapping for ransom is common across West Africa. In northern parts of the region, on the edge of the Sahara, it is associated with Islamist militants and allied gangs who often hold hostages incommunicado for years. But in southern or central cities like Kumasi, it is normally the work with regular criminals and often swiftly resolved. Local media reported that an Indian national was kidnapped and rescued in Kumasi last month. (Reporting by Christian Akorlie; Writing by Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Tim Cocks)

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