A man celebrating Mali’s Independence Day on Sept 22. Nopparat Rattanawaraha was on a tour of Mali and Burkino Faso, both nations that are grappling with bloody and long-running insurgencies, when he wass kidnapped. - AFP
BANGKOK (AFP): A Thai plastic surgeon kidnapped while travelling in Mali has returned home after a ransom was paid, local media reported Tuesday.
Nopparat Rattanawaraha -- who runs a popular YouTube channel where he posts travel clips -- said he was on a tour of Mali and Burkino Faso, both nations that are grappling with bloody and long-running insurgencies.
Thai foreign ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat said the 49-year-old was freed after a 5.5 million baht (RM70,370) ransom was paid, the Bangkok Post reported.
Nopparat is believed to have been taken in the small eastern town of Kemparana, near the Mali-Burkina Faso border.
He was found there 25 days after his abduction, the Thai foreign ministry said, according to the Bangkok Post.
"I sincerely apologise to everyone who has worried about me," Nopparat said in a Thai-language post on his Instagram account on Monday.
Video posted online on Tuesday, shared by Thai media, appeared to show Nopparat arriving at a Bangkok airport.
Nopparat reportedly arrived in Mali on Sept 28, and his family alerted the Thai embassy in Senegal after they did not hear from him for a few days.
The Thai foreign ministry did not respond to AFP's questions on Tuesday, but in an earlier statement, Tanee said it was not clear who kidnapped Nopparat.
The United Nations recently urged action in Mali, Burkina Faso and neighbouring Niger following the "volatile" security situation, which has seen UN peacekeepers and civilians attacked by terror groups.
