Video received of kidnapped Canadian diplomats: sources

Canada has received a videocassette as proof that two of its diplomats kidnapped in Niger in mid-December are still alive, sources close to the investigation in Mali said Saturday. "In the cassette, we see the two Canadian diplomats appear before the camera in turn to introduce themselves", a local elder from northern Mali who has seen the video told media. The diplomats, UN envoy to Niger Robert Fowler and Louis Guay, and their driver went missing in mid-December when returning from a visit to a gold mine operated by Canadian company Semafo, west of Niamey in Niger. Another Malian source who saw the video said it confirms the two diplomats are alive. "It is Robert Fowler who appears first before the camera. Behind him there are armed men. Fowler asks for a response to the demands of his kidnappers but doesn't provide any more details", said the source. In the undated video that lasts several minutes Guay "looks dejected", the source said. They said the driver of the two diplomats, Soumana Moukaila, did not appear in the video.