Louisa Akavi and the drivers were taken hostage in 2013 while working for the Red Cross, which has issued an appeal for information of her whereabouts for the first time
A NURSE believed to have been abducted by ISIS in Syria in 2013 may still be alive, the International Committee of the Red Cross has revealed.
Louisa Akavi - from New Zealand - was kidnapped along with two drivers while travelling in a Red Cross convoy.
The 62-year-old was delivering supplies to medical facilities Idlib, Syria, when a total of seven volunteers were taken hostage on October 13.
Four were released the following day but Akavi and two other volunteers have never been found.
Last month ISIS was finally driven out of its final stronghold in Baghouz.
The Red Cross said it has launched an appeal to find the Louisa - against the wished of the New Zealand government.
"Our latest credible information indicates that Louisa was alive in late 2018,"; it said in a statement from its Geneva headquarters.
"The ICRC has never been able to learn more details about Alaa and Nabil, and their fate is not known."
Akavi’s identity was kept a secret at the demand of the New Zealand Government and her employer as they worried revealing it to the media could put her life at risk.
But the Red Cross has now chosen to ignore the news blackout in hopes of obtaining any information leading to her being found.
New Zealand confirmed it disagreed with making the abduction public but did confirm it had dispatched a special forces unit to Syria to search for Akavi.
Dominik Stillhart, ICRC's director of operations, said: “The past five-and-a-half years have been an extremely difficult time for the families of our three abducted colleagues.
“Louisa is a true and compassionate humanitarian. Alaa and Nabil were committed colleagues and an integral part of our aid deliveries.
“We call on anyone with information to please come forward. If our colleagues are still being held, we call for their immediate and unconditional release.
“Following the fall of the last territory held by Islamic State group, we fear there is an extra risk of losing track of Louisa, though we remain hopeful this period will instead open new opportunities for us to learn more about her whereabouts and wellbeing.”
Akavi was believed to have been spotted in the ISIS stronghold of Sousa last December.
Those who came forward said Akavi was a nurse and treated them there.
New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Wintson Peters said the government deployed a non-combat team based in Iraq to find her.
Peters said "this has been a uniquely complex and difficult case" but the "where a New Zealander is held by a terrorist organisation, the government takes all appropriate action to recover them".
“This non-combat team was specifically focused on locating Louisa and identifying opportunities to recover her," the Foreign Minister revealed.
"Unfortunately the current whereabouts of Louisa is unknown. However, the New Zealand Government continues to work tirelessly to locate her and bring her to safety.
"What we actually know is that Louisa has been working as a nurse during her abduction which shows her dedication and commitment to the mission and mandate of the Red Cross - caring for people affected by conflict.”
The Red Cross said it also had information about three other sightings of Akavi in Abu Kamal in 2016, Raqqa in 2017 and Mayadeen last year.
ISIS made contact with the Red Cross in phone calls, texts and emails demanding a ransom of £840,000 for Akavi, the organisation said.
The terror group reportedly increased their ransom demands to £17million and ordered the release of several of their fighters.
Akavi joined the Red Cross in 1998 and has previously worked in hot spots including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq, Somalia and Sri Lanka.
British hostage John Cantlie has been held by ISIS for seven years and earlier this year Security Minister Ben Wallace suggested he may be alive.
The 48-year-old photojournalist was captured by ISIS while reporting in Syria in 2012 and since then he has used to front English-language videos and propaganda.
Cantlie is understood to have undergone horrific beatings and torture during his years with ISIS.
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