Kidnapped French priest freed in Cameroon

A French Roman Catholic priest freed Tuesday after being held captive for seven weeks by Islamic militants in Cameroon said he was "in great shape" and thanked those who helped secure his release. Georges Vandenbeusch, 42, was kidnapped on November 13 by heavily armed men who burst into his parish at night in the far north of the central African country and took him to neighbouring Nigeria. The radical Islamist movement Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people in attacks against Christians and government targets in northern Nigeria, claimed responsibility for holding the French priest soon after he was kidnapped. The Cameroonian army flew Vandenbeusch to the capital Yaounde and escorted him to the ambassador's residence. Later Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius arrived to pick him up, hailing the priest's release as "the best end of year gift". While the circumstances of the priest's release are unclear, Fabius insisted that France, often accused of paying ransoms for hostages despite stiff government denials, had not paid for the release of the priest. "The French government does not pay ransoms. There were discussions," Fabius told journalists. Vandenbeusch described his time in captivity as a period of "terrible boredom, sadness and anger because I'm very fond of the parish where I worked" in Cameroon. "I was under a tree for a month and a half," he said, explaining that his two main guards spoke a local language and not English, he did not have anything to read, or a radio to listen to. However, he said he had not been mistreated, despite being kept in "rustic conditions". "They even apologised several times," the priest told journalists after arriving in the capital. Vandenbeusch will be met by President Francois Hollande when he arrives in France on Wednesday morning at the military air base of Villacoublay near Paris. Six French hostages still held The Vatican welcomed the priest's release and called on the faithful to pray for those still being held around the world. We hope that all forms of violence, hatred and conflict in the tormented regions of Africa be stamped out, as well as elsewhere in the world," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said. In his former parish of Sceaux, near Paris, the bells rang on Tuesday to celebrate his release. "This church prayed for him a lot. Every day, candles were lit. You had to believe in it," said Marie, a 45-year-old worshipper. In a statement, his family thanked French, Cameroonian and Nigerian authorities and all those who supported them during the ordeal. "At this time of joy, we do not forget the other French hostages, and are thinking of their families," they said. There are still six French people being held hostage in Mali and Syria, and Hollande also reiterated his support for their families. Vandenbeusch was abducted from his home near the town of Koza in northern Cameroon, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Nigerian border. He was seized by about 15 people who had first gone to the nuns' house, apparently to look for money, giving him time to warn the embassy. At the time, Hollande had promised everything was being done to find him, but had also warned other French citizens against putting themselves in harm's way. The priest had been advised not to stay on in an area designated as a dangerous zone prone to militancy and kidnappings. In February, a Frenchman employed by gas group Suez was kidnapped in the same area together with his wife, their four children and his brother while visiting a national park. They were taken to neighbouring Nigeria and also held by Boko Haram, before being released in April.