In a new video that surfaced Monday, a distraught French hostage in Yemen has begged France and Yemen’s leaders to bring her home, but also acknowledges that they likely won’t “cooperate” with her captors.
Isabelle Prime, who worked as a consultant for Yemen’s Social Fund for Development before she was kidnapped in Sanaa with her translator in February, speaks softly in the video, but is clearly distressed.
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“Mr. Hollande and Mr. Hadi, my name is Isabelle, I’ve been kidnapped 10 weeks ago in Yemen, in Sanaa. Please bring me to France fast because I’m really, really tired,” she says in the 21-second video. “I tried to kill myself several times because I know you will not cooperate and I totally understand.”
Related: Watch VICE News’ documentary: Yemen: a Failed State
France’s Foreign Ministry reportedly authenticated Prime’s appearance in the video Monday, according to French daily Le Monde. Authorities have not yet publicly identified Prime’s kidnappers, but the 30-year-old was taken in an area that is home to one of al Qaeda’s most dangerous factions in the region.
French President Francois Hollande has reportedly called for Prime and her translator’s release “as quickly as possible.”
Many foreign countries, including France and the US, have advised their citizens not to travel to Yemen after the country broke out into an all-out civil war in recent months. The Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebel group has seized control of Sanaa, while the country’s internationally recognized president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, was forced into exile in March after resigning under pressure from the rebels in January. He later rescinded that resignation, but fled by boat as rebels approached his hometown of Aden. Saudi Arabia began airstrikes against the rebels in March, but they have been unsuccessful in pushing back Houthi forces.
Also on Monday, the UN said that thousands of tons of food — enough to feed up to 60,000 people for a month — had been unable to dock in the port of Aden because of heavy fighting, according to Reuters.
The continued lack of aid access to key areas of Yemen highlights the growing humanitarian crisis in the country, the UN said. More than 1000 civilians have died since the conflict began, while more than half a million have been displaced.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
