French journalist Romeo Langlois freed by FARC rebels in Colombia

GlobalPost

French reporter Romeo Langlois has been released from captivity in Colombia, more than a month after he was kidnapped by left-wing FARC rebels.

The France 24 journalist was handed over in the south of the country on Wednesday to a delegation comprising members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), French envoy Jean-Baptiste Chauvin and peace activist Piedad Cordoba, France 24 reports.

According to the BBC, Langlois walked through a crowd of villagers with FARC rebels before giving a short news conference, telling reporters that he was fine and had been treated well whilst in captivity.

"Other than being held for a month after being wounded, the rest has gone well," he said.

Alain de Pouzilhac, head of France 24's holding company, said the reporter's release was a great relief and he thanked the Colombian and French governments and the International Red Cross. "I also note that FARC kept their word," he said, according to Reuters.

More from GlobalPost: Colombia's FARC rebels 'to release' French journalist Romeo Langlois

Langlois, 35, was abducted in April during a rebel attack on a Colombian army unit he was accompanying in order to film a documentary on the destruction of narcotics laboratories in the Caqueta region.

The army said he had been wounded in the arm during the firefight. The rebels agreed over the weekend to free Langlois on Wednesday, and on Monday released a video showing Langlois with a bandage around his left elbow but otherwise in apparent good health.

The FARC, which took up arms in 1964 and which authorities say finances itself by selling cocaine, has an estimated 9,000 fighters. It recently stepped up hit-and-run attacks on Colombian security forces after years of setbacks from Colombia’s US-backed army, but announced in February that it was ending ransom kidnapping and last month released 10 soldiers and police whom it had held for up to 14 years, according to the Associated Press

More from GlobalPost: French journalist shot in left arm, FARC responsible for his life

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