An Italian Red Cross official held hostage by Muslim rebels for nearly six months in the Philippines was freed today, saying he had almost lost hope of walking away from captivity.
Eugenio Vagni (61) was abandoned by his captors at a remote village in Maimbung town on Jolo island early today and was fetched by soldiers and Nur-Ana Sahidulla, vice governor of the province in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines, the military said.
He was taken to an army base for a medical check up and later flown to an air base in southern port city of Zamboanga, where colleagues from the Red Cross were waiting for him.
"I thank all the people and the prayers that led to this happening because I was thinking that it will never happen," Mr Vagni, weak and near tears and wearing a dark shirt with a Philippine Marines logo and blue jogging pants, told reporters at an air base several hours after his release.
Officials said no ransom had been paid. But local news websites said Mr Vagni was freed after the military agreed to free two wives of a senior Abu Sayyaf leader, part of the group that held Vagni in the rugged interior of Jolo since January.
The women were arrested at a military checkpoint on Tuesday, the news reports said. They are now in the custody of Sahidulla, who was active in negotiations to free Vagni.
The military denied it had agreed to an exchange of prisoners, saying pressure exerted by security forces contributed to the release.
"Skilful negotiations and incessant pressure through relentless operations by members of the security forces won the release of Vagni," Lieutenant-Colonel Edgard Arevalo said in a statement.
Reuters