(VOVworld) – Al Qaeda's North African arm, AQIM, released a video on Monday showing a French and a Dutch hostage held since November 2011 in the Sahara.

An image snapped from the video

The video was posted on a popular jihadi forum by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's media branch. In the video, French national Serge Lazarevic and a man identifying himself as Sjaak Rijke appealed to their governments to negotiate their release. Neither man relayed any specific demands by AQIM, but they both alluded to the release of an American soldier in May in return for five Taliban terrorism suspects held by the US military.

French authorities confirmed the authenticity of the latest video, adding that French President Francois Holland was contacting the host country and doing all he could to help gain Lazarevic's release.The Dutch foreign ministry said it was aware of the latest video but has not released further comment.