Somalia - French hostage - Exclusive interview

French agent released in Somalia says he escaped without violence

Article published on the 2009-08-26 Latest update 2009-08-27 13:15 TU

Guards outside the presidential palace in Mogadishu, 26 August, 2009
(Photo: Reuters)

The French agent held by an Islamist group in Somalia since July told RFI that he was able to escape from his captors without resorting to violence. He spoke to RFI’s Cyril Bensimon on Wednesday from the African Union peacekeeper base in Mogadishu. He denied a ransom was paid for his release.

“I am doing well, even if my month-and-a-half detention was terribly long,” said the agent, who would only give his first name, Marc. “I was well-treated and was not tortured.”

He told RFI that the rumours of his having killed three of his captors were not true.

“Tuesday night around midnight I took advantage of my jailers being asleep and tired from Ramadan. I saw my cell was not closed properly, so I took off and there was no violence,” he said.

“I walked at night for almost five hours guided by the stars, to reach the area that I was looking for,” he said of finding safety. “Mogadishu is deserted at night, and the only people you meet are armed. I was shot at, I ran, I hid and luckily they missed.”

The agent has now arrived back in Paris. He said he hopes that his colleague, who has been detained by another group, is being as well treated as he was, and that he will soon be released.

The leader of the group, the Shebab, told news agency AFP on Thursday that his colleague will be tried by Sharia Law, accused of spying.