New video released of Estonian hostages

TALLINN -- The kidnappers of seven Estonian tourists in Lebanon this March have released another video of their hostages, the second so far, this one calling on the Estonian government to help secure their release.

All seven men appear alive and well in the video, though one of them says that they remain in "great danger". The hostage, who was the only one to speak in the clip, said it was made on May 16.

"This is really hard for us, and we are very tired and in great danger. We ask our families and all people who know us to help us in any way to get out from here. And we ask them to push the Estonian government to help us out from this jail, as the Estonian government has left us and does not want to help us anymore," he said.

The video came as Foreign Minister Urmas Paet met in Rome with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebar, Deputy Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates Anwar Gargash, and Secretary General of the Lebanese Foreign Ministry William Habib, with whom he discussed matters related to the abduction of Estonian citizens in Lebanon.

Though no specific demands have been made by the group claiming responsibility, "The Movement of Rebirth and Reform", this is the second video in which the hostages plead with the government for their release.

This time the hostages focus their pleas to the Estonian government, as opposed to the leaders of regional powers. The IP address of the previous video had been traced to Syria. The video appeared on www.4shared.com, whereas the previous video had been posted on YouTube.

Seven cyclists were kidnapped by masked gunmen on March 23 near Zahle, Lebanon's third largest city, shortly after crossing over the border from Syria.