Freed Australian hostage Jocelyn Elliott vows to continue work in Burkina Faso, focus turns to saving husband Ken

Burkina Faso former hostage Jocelyn Elliott looks into the camera with a straight face.

An Australian woman who was kidnapped by Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists in Burkina Faso has returned to the nation's capital after being freed, and says she hopes to be reunited with her husband so they can continue their medical work in the African nation.

Key points:

Jocelyn and Ken Elliott were kidnapped in Burkina Faso more than three weeks ago

Ms Elliott has been freed and has now returned to Burkina Faso's capital

Work continues to free her husband, who has worked as a doctor in the nation since 1972

Ms Elliott hopes they can continue their medical work in the country

Jocelyn Elliott and her husband doctor Ken Elliott, who are originally from Perth, were abducted in Burkina Faso close to the Niger border more than three weeks ago.

Ms Elliott was freed over the weekend following mediation by neighboring Niger, which is now trying to secure her husband's release.

She arrived in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital, on Monday aboard a Niger presidential plane accompanied by Niger's Foreign Minister, Aichatou Kane Boualama.

Ms Elliott was taken to the presidential palace, where she was greeted by head of state Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

"I am very moved to be here with my Burkina family. I want to thank the people of Burkina for their support in my absence," she said in French.

"I want to be with my husband shortly so that we can go to Djibo and continue there."

The Elliotts have run the sole medical clinic in the dusty town of Djibo, close to the border with Mali, since 1972.

She also expressed her gratitude to "the governments of Niger, Burkina Faso and Australia" and clarified she is aged 76 and her husband is 81.

Their ages had previously been given by officials as 84 and 82 respectively.

On Sunday Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufour confirmed his nation had mediated with the captors, but did not give details on either the circumstances or the location of her release.

"I think those who abducted them should know the contribution this couple have made to the poorest people in our regions. I hope they will be back together soon and that Jocelyn's husband will soon go free," Mr Issoufour said.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull earlier thanked Niger and Burkina Faso for their efforts, while the Elliott family released a statement saying they were "deeply grateful" for Jocelyn's release.

"We are trusting that the moral and guiding principles of those who have released our mother will also be applied to our elderly father who has served the community of Djibo and the Sahel for more than half his lifetime," the statement said.

Focus shifts to saving Dr Elliott

Malian militant group Ansar Dine said the couple had been taken by jihadists from the "Emirate of the Sahara" - said by experts to be a branch of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

Mr Barry said the focus was now on securing Dr Elliott's release.

"For now we know that her husband is alive and well. Now further negotiations will begin for his release and we will do everything to secure it," Mr Barry said.

He confirmed "no ransom was paid or conditions imposed" by the kidnappers for the release of Mrs Elliott.

The Burkina Government said the pair were kidnapped in Baraboule, near the country's borders with both Niger and Mali.

The kidnapping prompted an outpouring of support, with the people of Djibo turning to Facebook to plead for the couple's release and hundreds of students with placards reading "Free Elliott" taking to the streets of the town with their teachers.

Their abduction coincided with a jihadist assault on an upmarket hotel in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou left at least 29 people dead, including at least 13 foreigners.

Until recently Burkina Faso had largely escaped the tide of Islamist violence spreading in the restive Sahel region, but the January attack on the Splendid Hotel which is popular with foreigners and United Nations staff, has heightened fears that jihadist groups are casting their net wider in west Africa.

"Freed Australian Hostage Jocelyn Elliott Vows to Continue Work in Burkina Faso, Focus Turns to Saving Husband Ken." ABC News. N.p., 8 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

This article discusses the recent release of an Australian hostage from Burkina Faso. There is little bias in this article except that it shows a favorable light on the Elliotts and what they are doing in Burkina Faso. I found it interesting that the author did not mention anything about Jocelyn's time as a hostage but only that she had been returned. The article also doesn't mention whether or not the Elliotts are Christians. I hope and pray that the people from Niger will be able to get her husband released soon. I find it interesting that they choose to stay in Burkina Faso and not go back to Australia after such an event. This was an interesting article.