Johannesburg – The search for South African photojournalist Shiraaz Mohamed, abducted last month in war-torn Syria, is continuing, aid group Gift of the Givers said on Friday.
"We have received word that there will be rounding up of suspects, arrests, investigations and raids into different areas in an attempt to find Shiraaz. This process has already commenced. Various prisons will be visited in the days ahead to ascertain if Shiraaz has been wrongfully detained," said Gift of the Givers founder Imtiaz Sooliman.
The organisation runs a hospital that treats victims in Syria.
Sooliman said Mohamed approached his organisation last month to facilitate his entry into Syria in order to document the ongoing war in the country.
"As a renowned freelance photojournalist he wanted to document the suffering of the Syrian people by making available his pictures to the various agencies that he files for internationally. Shiraaz, as a courtesy to Gift of the Givers, would make available high quality pictures relevant to our various projects inside Syria," he added.
Mohamed was kidnapped while on the way to the Turkish border on January 10, near the hospital operated by Gift of the Givers. The kidnappers put guns to the heads of two aid workers who were with Mohamed and then blindfolded all three and drove with the captives for an hour.
The gunmen freed the two aid workers but said they would question Mohamed to clear up an unspecified "misunderstanding" and would release him at a Gift of the Givers facility after two days. There has since been no communication from the kidnappers.