Canadian freelance reporter Amanda Lindhout and Australian freelance photographer Nigel Brennan were released Wednesday in Mogadishu.
Lindhout and Brennan were released at 20:40 hrs local time, according to Ahmed Diriye, MP, who spoke to the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ). The two journalists were taken to a heavily guarded Hotel Sahafi in central Mogadishu. They are due to be flown to Nairobi Thursday morning.
“We welcome the happy end to the tragedy of the kidnapping of Amanda Lindhout and Nigel Brennan,” said Omar Faruk Osman, NUSOJ Secretary-General.
Four members of the Transitional Federal Parliament led by Ahmed Diriye were handed over the two journalists at Sarkuus checkpoint near Ex-control of Afgoye District, last checkpoint of TFG forces.
“We are very pleased that Amanda and Nigel have been released after all these 15 months of horrible horror. We are also very happy this ordeal ended peacefully. We are sharing our joy and relief over the release with the family and colleagues of the journalists”, said Omar Faruk.
“This fortunate outcome ends a cruel ordeal for Lindhout and Brennan, who were held hostage for 15 months in very tough conditions,” Paris-based Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) said. “They are still in the Somali capital but we hope they will be reunited with their families without delay.” It added, “We salute the efforts of all those in Somalia and elsewhere who helped to achieve their release.”
