Three French hostages kidnapped by al-Qaeda militants in Yemen more than five months ago are on their way home, a tribal official involved in their release said yesterday.
“They traveled by land to the Sultanate of Oman and will be flying to France from there,” the chief who led the mediation efforts with al-Qaeda militants said.
He added that the three former hostages — two men and a woman — were in “good health.”
The three hostages worked for French charity Triangle Generation Humanitaire and were seized by al-Qaeda militants in the Hadramawt Town of Seyun, 600km east of Sanaa.
Several days later, tribal sources said the kidnappers were from al-Qaeda and were demanding a ransom of US$12 million. Yesterday, the tribal chief said a ransom was paid to secure the release of the hostages, but did not specify who paid it or how much was involved.
The Arabian Peninsula country has been in the grip of civil unrest for months and Hadramout is among the provinces where al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based wing has been active.
The office of French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced their release and expressed his thanks to neighboring Oman for assisting in securing their freedom.
“The president warmly thanks the Sultan of Oman and the Omanese authorities for their crucial help, as well as all those who contributed to this happy resolution,” the office said in a statement.
The statement, which said Sarkozy “shared the joy” of the aid workers’ families, did not elaborate on how their release had been secured and a spokeswoman for Sarkozy declined to provide further details.
Triangle head Christian Lombard said he did not know whether a ransom had been paid for the release of the hostages, but said they would be flown back to Paris by tomorrow at the latest.
“We have no details on how it happened,” he told France Info radio.
Kidnappings of Western tourists or workers by tribes seeking ransom or concessions from the government have been frequent in Yemen.
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