Captors Post First Video of Frenchwoman Kidnapped in Yemen
The captors of Frenchwoman Isabelle Prime, kidnapped in war-ravaged Yemen on February 24, have posted the first video of her since her abduction.
In the 21-second tape posted on YouTube, seated on the ground and dressed in black, Prime appeals to the French and Yemeni presidents to take action to secure her release.
The 30-year-old, who worked as a consultant on a World Bank-funded project, was seized with her translator Sherine Makkaoui as they were driving to work in the capital Sanaa.
There has been no word on the identity of her kidnappers, who were dressed in police uniforms.
Makkaoui was later freed. She said she had been released in the southern city of Aden on March 10.
French deputy foreign ministry spokesman Alexandre Giorgini confirmed the authenticity of the video, adding that authorities were "mobilized to secure the release of our compatriot ... with discretion and determination".
A number of foreigners have been taken hostage in Yemen over the past 15 years, mostly by tribesmen as bargaining chips in negotiations with the government. Almost all have been freed unharmed.
But in December, U.S. journalist Luke Somers and South African teacher Pierre Korkie died during a failed attempt by U.S. commandos to rescue them from an Al-Qaida hideout in southeastern Yemen.
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