Shabaab has released a video of Denis Allex, one of two French security personnel kidnapped by the group from a hotel in Mogadishu last year. From Reuters:
In the video, Allex repeats those demands and says the group will issue a list of names of prisoners it wants released. He says the defeat of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party in recent French regional elections showed France opposes his policies.
“We ask the French people to do everything for my liberation,” he says, noting that other hostages have been released in Somalia, Sudan and Algeria.
“You can imagine my state of mind … I miss my family a lot and hope to see them as soon as possible,” he says, adding he has not been mistreated.
The message contains no threat against his life.
“The Shabaab movement made its demands to the government without any response and it is me who is paying the price by remaining in their hands as a hostage for a long time,” he said.
“Even though they have not and they are not physically abusing me, it is severely affecting my mental and psychological health.”
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1 Comment
I’ve not been familiar with this guy until this piece. Is he a mercenary of some sort? If so, what standing does he have to warrant any accommodations from the French government?