A Somali group which took a Dutch and a Japanese medical aid worker hostage last month said on Friday they would release them if Ethiopia releases Somali prisoners, news agency AP reports.

A Dutch male nurse and Japanese female doctor were both working for charity Medecins du Monde in Ethiopia and later moved to Somalia, AP says.
Speaking on the telephone through a spokesman for the kidnappers, the Dutch nurse, who has not been named, said he and his fellow hostage were feeling tense but were alright physically.