The Spanish government has received a video showing three Spanish aid workers alive and apparently well after being kidnapped before Christmas in Mauritania. The three – identified as Alicia Gámez, Roque Pascual and Albert Vilalta – had been working for a Barcelona-based charity when they were seized by AQIM – Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and taken across the border into Mali.
There had been special concerns regarding the health of Vilalta, who was shot in the leg at the time of the kidnapping, but in the video he appeared healthy and bandaged. The government says that receipt of the video means they are able to begin negotiations on behalf of their compatriots; however, the Spanish authorities stress that they will not pay any ransom demanded by the hostage takers.
