English/Nat The eight Red Cross workers and two pilots taken hostage in Somalia 10 days ago are now free and in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. Abgal subclan members kidnapped the aid workers at gunpoint after they landed at an airstrip in Northern Mogadishu last Wednesday. The multi-national aid workers looked shaken but in good health when they were greeted by colleagues at a Red Cross hospital in Mogadishu on Friday. The plane carrying the 10 hostages just released from Somalia touched down to find a jubilant crowd waiting. There were tears and hugs of relief as the hostages -- pictured on television during their ordeal being threatened at gunpoint -- were reunited with their families and friends. The hostages was clearly weary from 10 days in captivity and a final day which saw them released early in the morning and transported in armed caravans. But the group -- all international aid workers -- looked in reasonable condition. They were escorted by a Red Cross negotiator, who settled last-minute objections to the release from some of the kidnappers. The captives -- who included a Norwegian, a naturalised American Somali, a Belgian, a German, three Swiss men and a French nurse -- will now be debriefed and given any necessary medical treatment. One of the hostages vividly recounted the surprise abduction on the airstrip in northern Mogadishu. SOUNDBITE: (English) "Suddenly some technicals appeared from both sides of the runway, a few shots in the air, and one (kidnapper) passed up in front of me and three of my colleagues. We were forced on the floor. A few minutes later we realised we were on our way to Mogadishu with charming young boys looking at what we had in our pockets, watches gone, et cetera." SUPER CAPTION: Thomas Gurtner, Hostage He said that while they were kept hostage, the aid workers were not denied the basic necessities by their abductors. SOUNDBITE: (English) "We've been treated as hostages, we've been treated as people being detained. We were confined to a single room - about twenty square metres for ten of us. We had always access to food, always access to water, to sanitary facilities. And apart from a few very tense moments, generally speaking, we've been treated with respect." SUPER CAPTION: Thomas Gurtner, Hostage It had been a day of high tension. The hostages were hustled into a jeep early on Friday morning and driven at high speed to a Red Cross hospital in northern Mogadishu. A small crowd of fellow aid workers gathered outside the hospital where they had the first of their emotional reunions. They were then met inside by Somali clan leaders. Later they were driven in an armed convoy to Mogadishu airport. Michael Kleiner, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, said details of the release were not yet known. But he insisted the I-C-R-C had paid no ransom to the kidnappers. SOUNDBITE: (English) "No, the I-C-R-C has not paid a ransom. As I said, the release has happened unconditionally. And since the beginning the Somalis have been the ones who have been discussing this. The I-C-R-C has never been directly involved in the discussions. We have always left the Somalis to find a solution among themselves. This is a rule in Somalia now. The clans are ruling the society there. There are warlords. There is a whole system of ways - a whole way to find a solution in Somalia - where the I-C-R-C cannot get involved. It would have not been a proper solution there." SUPER CAPTION: Michael Kleiner, International Committee of the Red Cross, Africa spokesman There have been conflicting reports about the captors' demands -- but it is reported they had demanded up to one (m) million dollars in ransom money. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/248567f5483f77838dca0225570f5dc7 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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