MOGADISHU, Somalia - A Somali journalist who was kidnapped along with Canadian freelance reporter Amanda Lindhout last August was released Friday, but provided no information about the whereabouts or welfare of his Alberta-born colleague or her Australian photographer.
Abdifatah Mohamed Elmi said clan elders negotiated his release and no ransom was paid.
Lindhout, a freelance television and print reporter from Sylvan Lake, Alta., was travelling with Elmi and Australian photographer Nigel Brennan when they were kidnapped Aug. 23 near the Somali capital of Mogadishu.
Lindhout and Brennan, who had arrived in Somalia three days earlier, were part of a group that was returning from a visit to a refugee camp some 20 kilometres southwest of the capital when the kidnapping occurred.
Elmi told The Associated Press that he was blindfolded and separated from the two Western journalists when they were taken, and has no idea where they are being held.
Reporters Without Borders said Elmi's release was "obviously good news," but added that relief won't come until the two other journalists are freed.
"Our concern about their fate is as strong as ever given the growing instability in Mogadishu," the Paris-based group said in a news release. "All the actors involved should combine their efforts in order to obtain their release as soon as possible."
In Ottawa, Foreign Affairs spokesman Daniel Barbarie said the government welcomed the news and is continuing to do what it can to facilitate their freedom.
Barbarie said the department is pursuing "all appropriate channels to seek further information about Lindhout's welfare and to assist the families in securing her safe release" as well as that of Brennan.
The National Union of Somali Journalists in Mogadishu has repeatedly demanded an end to the kidnapping of journalists.
The group's secretary-general Omar Faruk Osman said Friday he was relieved at the news, but said his group remained "tremendously concerned over the destiny of our colleagues."
Somali kidnappers reportedly threatened to kill Lindhout and Brennan last month if a $2.5 million ransom was not paid in 15 days. That deadline passed and the kidnappers have not been heard from since.
Kidnappings for ransom are common in Somalia, a country plagued by civil conflict for more 17 years. The Somali government has been fighting an Islamist insurgency and the lack of security has recently led to a surge in piracy.
Foreign journalists and aid workers have often been the targets of attacks.
Two foreign journalists -- a Briton and a Spaniard -- were released Jan. 4 after nearly six weeks in captivity.
Colin Freeman of the Sunday Telegraph and Spanish freelance photographer Jose Cendon were working on a piracy story when they were kidnapped Nov. 26.
