A French news agency is reporting that the Canadian government has obtained video footage of two Canadian diplomats who went missing in Niger last December.
Agence-France Press reported Saturday that a video with Robert Fowler, a missing UN envoy, and his assistant, Louis Guay, has surfaced and been handed over to Canadian authorities. The news agency said it learned about the video from sources in west Africa.
The two Canadians went missing, along with their driver, Soumana Moukaila, when returning from a gold mine on Dec. 14. Their car was found abandoned, with the engine still running, about 35 kilometres from the capital city of Niamey.
The alleged tape shows Fowler and Guay introducing themselves while armed men appear in the background, AFP said.
A source from Mali told AFP that Fowler "asks for a response to the demands of his kidnappers but doesn't provide any more details."
Foreign Affairs spokesperson Marie-Christine Lilkoff told CTV.ca in an e-mail on Sunday that the department is "aware" of the AFP report but had no comment on the matter.
Last month, Niger President Mamadou Tandja said it appeared the missing Canadians had been kidnapped by rebels.
A local rebel group, the Front des Forces de Redressement, initially claimed responsibility for Fowler's kidnapping in a posting on its website. The group's leader later denied this was true.
With files from The Canadian Press
