A New Zealand nurse believed abducted with two drivers by ISIS militants in Syria in 2013 may still be alive, the International Committee of the Red Cross has revealed for the first time in an appeal for news of her whereabouts after information on her kidnapping was long kept secret for fear her life might be at risk.
Louisa Akavi was snatched along with Syrian drivers Alaa Rajab and Nabil Bakdounes while traveling in a Red Cross convoy delivering supplies to Idlib, in the northwest of the country.
Armed men stopped their convoy on October 13, 2013, and abducted seven people, four of whom were released the following day.
The ICRC said it believed they were abducted by ISIS.
"Our latest credible information indicates that Louisa was alive in late 2018," the group said Sunday in a statement from Geneva.
"The ICRC has never been able to learn more details about Alaa and Nabil, and their fate is not known."
New Zealand said it disagreed with making the abduction public but did confirm it had dispatched a special forces unit to Syria to search for Akavi.
"This has involved members of the NZDF (New Zealand defense force) drawn from the Special Operations Force, and personnel have visited Syria from time to time as required," New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said Monday.
"This non-combat team was specifically focused on locating Louisa and identifying opportunities to recover her.
"The efforts to locate and recover Louisa are ongoing, and there are a number of operational or intelligence matters the government won't be commenting on," said Winston, who is also Foreign Minister.
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expressed disappointment at the information released by the ICRC and refused to answer questions at her weekly press conference on Monday.
Peters said information about the kidnapping had not been previously released for fear that any publicity would place the hostages at greater risk, and New Zealand media outlets which knew Akavi had been taken hostage agreed not to publish the story.
Akavi had carried out 17 field missions with the ICRC and the New Zealand Red Cross, the statement said. Rajab and Bakdounes were "dedicated husbands and caring fathers", it added.
