Somali elder: Kidnapped French reporter said being 'treated well'

A Somali elder has met with a French journalist being held by kidnappers who have increased their ransom demand to US$1 million, the elder said Wednesday.

Cameraman Gwen Le Gouil was kidnapped Sunday outside Bossaso in semiautonomous Puntland, a northern region that is removed from the ferocious Islamic insurgency in the country's south. In recent months, however, Puntland has become associated with piracy off its coast.

"I met with the kidnapped reporter," said Mohamed Said, among Somalia's highly influential clan elders. "He told me that he was safe and was treated well."

The kidnappers were demanding a a US$1 million …