A 12-hour kidnapping ordeal

„Just been through a 12-hour kidnapping ordeal in Aleppo. Yesterday morning me, a Mexican and a Basque journalist were abducted by unknown gunmen near the Ezzaa frontline in eastern Aleppo. We were handcuffed, blindfolded and held in a cell for the rest of the day. Eventually we were stripped of all our possessions and left by the roadside in an abandoned area of the city. We then made our way to the headquarters of the Al Tawheed brigade, one of the main armed opposition groups in Aleppo.

We are now well and unharmed and out of Syria. I would like to thank my colleagues and my family for moving so quickly and efficiently to try to establish what had happened to us. A word of thanks also to the Spanish and Hungarian governments for their help in securing our passage back into Turkey.”