French Sahara hostage appeals in video for negotiated release

A video of French hostage Serge Lazarevic, appealing to France's President Francois Hollande to negotiate his release after two years in captivity in the Sahara, was aired by Dubai-based Al Aan TV on Tuesday (June 3).

 In the video, Lazarevic wore a black turban and had a long gray beard. Lazarevic said he had been kidnapped by al Qaeda's North African wing, AQIM, and appeared in front of two gunmen, whose faces were concealed by turbans.

"I take this opportunity today May 13, 2014, to call on Francois Hollande, the president of France, to do everything to negotiate my release," he said, speaking in French.

Al Aan TV, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, said Lazarevic was ill and a full video would be aired later in the day. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.
 
The French Foreign Ministry said the video was being verified and had no further comment. Lazarevic is the last of a series of French hostages held by militants in the region.
 
The presence of hostages in the region complicated French-led efforts to drive al Qaeda-linked militants from northern Mali, which was over-run by Islamists in 2012.
 
France sent troops to its former colony Mali in January last year to halt the offensive by the Islamists, ending their 10-month control of the north of the country.
 
Philippe Verdon, another Frenchman kidnapped alongside Lazarevic, was killed by his captors in northern Mali last July in response to France's military intervention in the country.     
 
In October, following secret talks led by negotiators in Niger, al Qaeda-linked gunmen freed four Frenchmen they had held hostage since they were seized in Niger in 2010.  
                       

REUTERS