The international humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans
Frontieres/MSF) says it has been told the group's mission chief is alive, nine
months after he was abducted in the southern Russian republic of Dagestan.
MSF President Morten Rostrup said Monday that Dagestani and Russian officials
have confirmed that they know Arjan Erkel, head of the MSF mission in the northern
Caucasus, is still alive, but don't know where he is being held.
The aid worker was abducted nine months ago in Dagestan's capital, Makhachkala.
Mr. Rostrup says the officials also told the organization they don't know who
kidnapped Dr. Erkel, or why.
Since the abduction, Doctors Without Borders has suspended its operations in Dagestan
and Chechnya. The organization has called upon Russian President Vladimir Putin
to do everything in his power to see that Arjan Erkel is released.