Video footage shows the moment a man from Algeria who had been missing for almost three decades was found in his neighbour's cellar.
When Omar Bin Omran was just 17 years old, he vanished from his hometown of Djelfa, only to be found alive 27 years later in a hole in the ground of his neighbour's home.
While his family thought he was killed during The Algerian Civil War (1992-2002), where fatalities are estimated to be between 100,000 and 200,000, the truth was a lot closer to home.
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Reports in Algeria suggest that Omran was allegedly kidnapped and found in his neighbour's house less than 200 metres away from his family's home.
Now aged 45, Omran was rescued from the home of a 61-year-old, who is now in police custody, on 12 May.
According to footage that's been shared on social media and Algerian television networks, the 45-year-old was found in a hole in the ground in a 'sheep pen' surrounded by hay, located in the cellar of the man's home.
Reports from El Khabar suggest that his dog used to wait on the doorstep of the house - before the dog later vanished, too.
Amid an unsuccessful search for Omran in 1998 after he went missing while on his way to a vocational school, the alleged kidnapping took place due to an inheritance dispute, according to comments made by his brother on social media.
Public prosecutors in Djelfa said in a statement: "The Djelfa Attorney General’s Office informs the public that on May 12 at 8pm local time it found victim Omar B, aged 45, in the case of his neighbour, B.A., aged 61."
A court official in Djelfa said: "Two days ago, on 12 May 2024, the Public Prosecutor's Office received, through the regional department of the National Gendarmerie in El Jadid, a complaint against an anonymous person claiming that the complainant's brother, Omar bin Omran, who has been missing for about 30 years, is in the house of one of his neighbours, inside a sheepfold.
"Following this report the General Prosecutor of the Court of Idrisiya in the province of Djelfa ordered the National Gendarmerie to open an in-depth investigation and officers went to the house in question.
"The missing person was found and the suspect, the 61-year-old owner of the house was arrested."
Omran's mother died in 2013 without knowing the truth of what happened to her son.
Local media report that he was told of his mother's death whilst in captivity.
Officials say that the 'perpetrator of this heinous crime', who worked as a civil servant, will be tried with 'severity.'
Topics: World News, Crime
Anish Vij