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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| British reporter freed in Somalia | British reporter freed in Somalia |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Somali kidnappers have released a British journalist and Spanish photographer, according to officials. | Somali kidnappers have released a British journalist and Spanish photographer, according to officials. |
| Sunday Telegraph chief foreign correspondent Colin Freeman and Jose Cendon were seized on 26 November in the north-eastern Puntland region. | Sunday Telegraph chief foreign correspondent Colin Freeman and Jose Cendon were seized on 26 November in the north-eastern Puntland region. |
| They had been reporting on piracy in the region but were captured by gunmen while en route to Bosasso airport with two Somali journalists. | They had been reporting on piracy in the region but were captured by gunmen while en route to Bosasso airport with two Somali journalists. |
| Regional security chiefs say they were released without payment of any ransom. | |
| Mr Freeman told the Reuters news agency the kidnappers had treated the pair well and that they were safe. | |
| "I am only tired and I am very eager to see my family," he added. | |
| However, two other foreign journalists, an Australian and a Canadian abducted near the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in August, have still not been released. | However, two other foreign journalists, an Australian and a Canadian abducted near the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in August, have still not been released. |
| 'No ransom' | |
| Wracked by civil conflict since 1991 and with no functioning government, much of Somalia is controlled by Islamist insurgents. | Wracked by civil conflict since 1991 and with no functioning government, much of Somalia is controlled by Islamist insurgents. |
| Piracy off Somalia's coast has become an increasing problem for fishing boats, cargo ships and yachts. | Piracy off Somalia's coast has become an increasing problem for fishing boats, cargo ships and yachts. |
| Foreigners, who can be exchanged for large ransoms, are frequent targets. | Foreigners, who can be exchanged for large ransoms, are frequent targets. |
| However, in this case, local elders were reported to have secured their release and officials have denied reports that an $800,000 (£550,000) ransom was paid. | |
| "The two European journalists were freed without any payment of a ransom," Abdullahi Said Samatar, Puntland's security minister, told Reuters. |