Paris: French nuclear company Areva says four employees kidnapped over the weekend by rebels in the West African country of Niger have been freed.
Areva says the four French nationals were handed over to the International Committee for the Red Cross in the northern part of the country.
The company said in a statement today that the four were well and should be leaving for France very soon.
The four were abducted by rebels on Sunday in a part of Niger known for its uranium mines.
Areva said the three men and a woman all Niger-based employees were captured by the rebel Movement for Justice. The group opposes the mining of ancestral lands.
