A French family with four small children kidnapped by Islamic extremists in Cameroon was released today after two months spent in captivity, officials of Cameroon and France announced today.
Neither government has announced how and where the family was freed.
French President Francois Hollande said that all members of the family are fine and will return to their homeland as soon as possible.
The family was kidnapped on February 19, at the height of the French army's campaign against Islamic extremists in Mali. Hollande said authorities had made contact with the kidnappers through intermediaries and that negotiations had intensified in recent days.
The hostages were identified by the French energy company GDF Suez, which recognized its employee who worked in Yaounde and his family. The abducted group included three adults and four children, ages five to 12.
GDF Director Gerard Masrale said that the hostages were freed in a military operation, but did not provide further details.
Last month, a video emerged of a man believed to be Tangi Moulin-Fournier. He said his family is being held by the radical Islamic group Boko Haram, which demands the release of all its members, especially women and children detained in Niger and Cameroon.
Neither Nigeria nor Cameroon have reported that any Boko Haram members have been freed.
Boko Haram has been waging a campaign of bombings and armed attacks in northern Nigeria. It is believed to be responsible for the deaths of 790 people in 2012 alone and several dozen since the beginning of this year.
France is the target of criticism for indirectly paying ransoms for hostages through intermediaries, which diplomats and analysts from other Western countries accuse it of.
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