A South African charity said Tuesday it had received proof that a freelance photographer kidnapped in Syria was alive, as his family prepared to mark one year since his capture. Shiraaz Mahomed was kidnapped on January 10 last year travelling to the Turkish border from a hospital supported by the Gift of the Givers charity in the Syrian town of Darkouch, 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of Aleppo.

Gift of the Givers said that no ransom demand had been made and the identity of the kidnappers was not known. The charity said in a statement that it had confirmed Mahomed was alive through replies to 10 questions that only he would be able to answer.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2018