Four South Africans abducted in Iraq a month ago are still alive, Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad said on Wednesday.
Pahad said the men’s captors had told negotiators they were safe and that negotiations to free them continue.
”Of course this is their word,” Pahad said, adding that there was no independent confirmation of the men’s health.
He said negotiations are difficult because South Africa does not have a mission in Iraq. It has organised talks through its embassy in Jordan.
The four men and five Iraqis were snatched at a roadblock in northern Baghdad on December 10. The Iraqis were released two days later.
The South Africans are employed by Safenet Security Services, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands and contracted to the United States Department of Defence.
Their names have not been released. — Sapa