Somali gunmen kidnap two French journalists

(Adds background)

MOGADISHU, July 14 (Reuters) - Somali gunmen stormed a hotel in the capital Mogadishu and kidnapped two French journalists on Tuesday, a hotel worker said.

"Several gunmen entered the Sahafi Hotel, pointed guns at the guards and went into the hotel rooms where they took away the two French nationals," the hotel manager, who declined to be named told Reuters.

"The two males told me they were journalists," he added.

It was not immediately clear which media the two journalists were working for.

Somalia is one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists, both local and foreign, to operate and several have been kidnapped or killed.

Fighting in Somalia since Ethiopian troops ousted the Islamic Courts Union in late 2006 has killed at least 18,000 and sent hundreds of thousands more fleeing from their homes. (Reporting by Abdi Guled; Writing by Wangui Kanina)