Alberta journalist abducted in Somalia appears in video

An Alberta journalist kidnapped in Somalia last month has appeared in a video asking the Canadian government to secure her release, according to a media report.

A video shown Tuesday on Al-Jazeera television showed Amanda Lindhout surrounded by her kidnappers in an unidentified location that appeared to be in the woods or jungle. She was accompanied by Australian photographer Nigel Brennan, who was kidnapped at the same time.

Dressed in a red headscarf that covered her head and upper body, Lindhout was shown speaking in the video, however, the audio was not played. The Al-Jazeera report said Lindhout and Brennan were appealing to their respective governments to work toward their release.

Going by the names the "Mujahideen of Somalia," the kidnappers blamed Canada and Australia for "taking part in the destruction of Somalia" and called on both countries to review their foreign policies, Al-Jazeera reported.

Lindhout was abducted on Aug. 23 near the Somali capital, Mogadishu, along with Brennan, a Somali reporter who served as their translator and a Somali driver.

The kidnappers demanded $2.5 million US for their release earlier this month.

A freelance television and print reporter from Red Deer, Alta., Lindhout is usually based in Baghdad. She writes for the Red Deer Advocate newspaper, reporting from war zones in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan.

She arrived in Somalia on Aug. 20 to work for the French TV station France 24.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since 1991, when the former dictator Siad Barre was overthrown by warlords.