Zanzibar: Two British Women In Acid Attack

Two British teenagers have had acid thrown in their faces in a late night attack on the island of Zanzibar.

Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup, both 18, were attacked as they walked through the streets of Stone Town, the historical centre of the capital of the east African island, by two men on a moped.

The acid splashed their faces, chests, backs and hands.

The pair, who had been working as volunteer teachers at an orphanage, were flown to hospital in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for treatment after the attack on Wednesday night but have now been discharged.

Katie Gee had been volunteering as a teacher

The two teenagers, from London, were with the volunteering organisation i-to-i as part of a four-week trip.

They had been due to return home from the island, a popular destination for gap-year travellers, to the UK on Saturday.

In a statement the organisation said: "The motive for the attack is as yet not known and we will await the report from the local authorities in Zanzibar before any comment can be made.

"The female clients had been volunteer teachers on Zanzibar and were in the final week of their trip.

Kirstie Trup was also injured in the attack

"The safety of our customers is of paramount importance to us and our own investigation will be launched as soon as it is possible to do so."

Their parents are understood to have been informed and the teenagers are expected to fly back on Thursday.

Deputy Police Commissioner Mkadam Khamis said: "Police in Zanzibar have launched a manhunt, and we ask for public assistance in identifying the attackers."

He added: "The motive for the attack on the volunteers, aged 18 years, has not been established."

The street in Stone Town where the attack took place

Saleh Mohammed Jidawi, a senior health ministry official, said that the women's wounds were "not life threatening".

The assault is the first against foreigners in the popular tourist destination, however, there have been a series of local attacks in the archipelago, mainly on grounds of religion.

A Muslim cleric was subjected to an acid attack in November. In February a Catholic priest was shot dead and in December another priest was shot and wounded.

But police described the attack on the British teenagers as an "isolated incident" and refused to link it to rising religious tensions between Muslims and Christians.

The Indian Ocean islands, famed for their white sand beaches and historical buildings in Stone Town, listed as a world heritage site by Unesco, are mainly Muslim, with 3% of the 1.2 million people Christian.

The attack on the island, 22 miles off the coast of Tanzania, came at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as people began to celebrate the Eid holiday.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "We are aware of an incident and are providing consular assistance."

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