UK journalist freed in Somalia
British journalist released in Somalia
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Sunday, 04, Jan 2009 12:17
A British journalist held hostage in Somalia since November has been freed from captivity.
Colin Freeman, the Sunday Telegraph's chief foreign correspondent, was released alongside Spanish photographer Jose Cendon.
The pair had been working on a story about the growing problem presented by piracy on Somalia's lawless coast when they were abducted last year.
"The two journalists are free after their ordeals," Puntland's head of police Abdullahi Said Samatar told the AFP news agency.
""They're taking some rest now and they will be available later. I'm happy to see them recovering their freedom."
Further details are expected to be released later.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991 and last year saw a major upsurge of pirate attacks on commercial vessels travelling through the Gulf of Aden and around the Horn of Africa.
There were 111 hijack attempts in 2008 but the increasing deployment of international naval ships to the area is already beginning to slow the frequency of successful attacks.