Colombia's Farc rebels release video of French reporter Published duration 28 May 2012

media caption Romeo Langlois was seized in April by FARC fighters during a clash with Colombian troops

Colombia's left-wing Farc rebels have released the first images of French journalist Romeo Langlois since he was captured a month ago.

On a video broadcast by Venezuelan TV channel Telesur, the journalist appears in good health and good spirits.

The tape was released the day after the Farc set a date to release Mr Langlois.

He is due to be handed over on Wednesday to a international committee that has been mediating with the rebels.

The tape shows Mr Langlois, 35, in a camp in the jungle, probably in southern Colombia, where he was captured.

He was on a reporting trip for international broadcaster France 24, filming the destruction of cocaine laboratories by army soldiers in the Caqueta region.

The army said he was wounded in the arm when the group came under attack.

He then ran towards the rebels who later declared him a "prisoner of war".

In the video, he appears with bandage around his left elbow and is also shown being treated for his wound.

Mr Langlois also discusses the reporting trip and says he expected the operation to last no more than a couple of hours.

"You know what you are exposed to when you undertake this kind of activity, but the truth is I didn't think it was going to get so big," he says.

The French journalist says he did not know the area was a danger zone.

It is not clear when the video was recorded.

Security arrangements

image caption Romeo Langlois has been reporting from Colombia for more than 10 years

In a statement published on the internet on Sunday, the Farc says Mr Langlois will be handed over to a delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), a French government envoy and a peace group led by former Colombian senator Piedad Cordoba.

The French envoy, who has not been named, was due to arrive in the Colombian capital, Bogota, on Monday.

The French ambassador to Bogota, Pierre-Jean Vandoorne, said they could only hope that "everything goes well on the day."

The head of the ICRC in Colombia, Jordi Raich, says security arrangements are in place for Mr Langlois' release on Wednesday.

In previous hostage releases, the Colombian armed forces agreed to cease all operations in the designated area.