A French security adviser seized by Islamist militants in Somalia has escaped his captors, officials say.
The Frenchman, who was kidnapped from a hotel in Mogadishu along with a colleague last month, reportedly killed three militants as he made his escape.
Nothing is known of the fate of the second hostage, who is being held by a different rebel faction.
The pair were part of a team training government forces, who are battling the rebels for control of the country.
A spokesman for the interim government, Abdulkadir Hussein Wehliye, said the man who escaped was in the presidential palace and "in a good mood".
A government military official, Farhan Asanyo, said the man unexpectedly came up to government soldiers early on Wednesday, identified himself and said he had escaped.
"The man told them that he was one of the French officials held by militants," Mr Asanyo said.
"He said he escaped after killing three of his captors, and we sent him to the presidential palace."
The BBC's Mohammed Olad Hassan, in Mogadishu, says the two French captives were being held by different factions.
While fighters from the Hizbul-Islam group were holding the man who has now escaped, their allies from al-Shabab are thought to hold the other man.
The two groups control much of southern Somalia, but analysts say al-Shabab is known for being the more radical of the two groups.
Al-Shabab fighters care little for their public image and they have carried out killings on camera.
Both groups are said to have links to al-Qaeda and have been reinforced by foreign fighters.
Somalia has not had a functioning central government since 1991.
Moderate Islamist Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was sworn in as president in January after UN-brokered peace talks.
He promised to introduce Sharia law but the hardliners accuse him of being a western stooge.
Nice to have a hostage saving himself! Although perhaps not so good news for the other guy, the fanatics are not going to be amused by this.
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A French security adviser seized by Islamist militants in Somalia has escaped his captors, officials say.
The Frenchman, who was kidnapped from a hotel in Mogadishu along with a colleague last month, reportedly killed three militants as he made his escape.
Nothing is known of the fate of the second hostage, who is being held by a different rebel faction.
The pair were part of a team training government forces, who are battling the rebels for control of the country.
Read: special forces.
I would like to imagine that he spat a pithy one-liner, killed his captors with a triple butterfly kickflip, then nonchalantly punched a hole in the wall and strode out into the sunset.
Robert Gilruth to Max Faget on the Apollo program: “Max, we’re going to go back there one day, and when we do, they’re going to find out how tough it is.”
How come he was French? I thought international law only allowed Americans and British special agents to escape from captivity?
This must be seriously investigated. Why, macho Americans won't be able to claim all French are pansies! A true international crisis in the making!
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It's the land of the Polka-Dotted Technical (and starving black teenagers, according to Rush). I'm surprised he didn't do a one man reenactment of Black Hawk Down.
France is about the only country that's actively been fighting the pirates. The old, tired jokes don't apply here.
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I disagree with the OP: acting like a hero, special forces or not, is a sure way to get yourself nearly killed and possibly get any other fellow hostages killed.
But beyond that: yeah, this guy definitely qualifies for the "Badass of the Month" title.
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Dark Hellion wrote:So, this is the french James Bond? Jaque Bondaux?
OSS117 Hubert Bonniseur de la Bath. The OSS117 stories predate James Bond, teh first OSS117 was written in 1949. The English translations are virtually unobtainable now which is a pity because they were good stories. Also, there were way over 100 of them. The last one was written in the 1990s.
Did he order chilled red wine when he got home?
I doubt it. The French are many things but they are not barbarians.
acting like a hero, special forces or not, is a sure way to get yourself nearly killed and possibly get any other fellow hostages killed.
With respect, that's the attitude that got the people on the airliners and in the Towers and Pentagon killed during 9/11. It was the loophole in the security system that was exploited by the terrorists. Passively acceptance of the situation is not a good thing
Nations do not survive by setting examples for others
Nations survive by making examples of others
So basically these dumbasses kidnapped Jean Rambeux and got their shit ruined. Good for France.
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Winston Blake wrote:I would like to imagine that he spat a pithy one-liner, killed his captors with a triple butterfly kickflip, then nonchalantly punched a hole in the wall and strode out into the sunset.
Well, he's french, so I'm guessing he lit a cigarette too and paused for dramatic effect.
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Ok for the people who don't get the chilled red wine, think of Bond's favorite drink. The Vodka Martini is considered to be a very low-brow uncouth drink by martini aficionados, additionally the act of shaking a martini "bruises" its flavor by causing the droplets of vermouth to pop. A vodka martini shaken not stirred is a very ungentlemanly drink to order in a classy joint. Ordering such a drink is an oddly civilian idiosyncrasy for someone who demonstrates a great knowledge of '50s Dom.
Thus the joke is that being so badass he would order chilled red wine and the server would serve it to him without complaint, like the stuffy server do in various Bond movies.
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Zixinus wrote:I disagree with the OP: acting like a hero, special forces or not, is a sure way to get yourself nearly killed and possibly get any other fellow hostages killed.
I disagree. First, he was alone; it's not like there was a roomful of kids with him or something that could get killed in the crossfire. Second, it's clearly NOT "a sure way to get yourself nearly killed" because he succeeded.
Cooperating with your captors is the common advice because in general most people simply aren't badass enough to, starting unarmed, kill three militants, evade recapture and get away alive; this guy is.
"There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs." - John Rogers
Frank Hipper wrote:Hasty generalisations apply whether it's a positive or negative; but fallacious logic is never a positive.
Fun is positive.
Applying the characteristics of the escaped prisoner to French stereotypes, and vice versa, is fallacious logic.
Applying the characteristics of the escaped prisoner to French stereotypes, and vice versa, is fun.
Fallacious logic is sometimes fun.
Fallacious logic is sometimes positive.
Q.E.D.
Also concluded: the world needs more hostages like that guy.
Frank Hipper wrote:How the fuck do people seriously think that the actions of an individual reflect the character of that person's nation of origin?
Hasty generalisations apply whether it's a positive or negative; but fallacious logic is never a positive.
Sometimes the circle-jerk shit spewed around here is just shameful.
As to the OP, good for this guy escaping before something potentially very nasty could have happened.
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