Algerian Man Found Alive in Cellar After 26 Years.

By Caroline Ameh

A man has been found alive in his neighbor’s cellar after vanishing approximately 26 years ago during the Algerian civil war.

Omar bin Omran, who disappeared from Djelfa, Algeria, in the 1990s when he was in his late teens, has resurfaced at the age of 45, merely 200 meters away from his childhood home.

Authorities have arrested a 61-year-old man suspected of keeping Omar captive all these years.

Omar’s disappearance occurred amidst the turmoil of a decade-long conflict between Algeria’s government and Islamist groups. His family had resigned themselves to believing he was among the casualties, with estimates suggesting up to 200,000 killed and as many as 20,000 kidnapped during the unrest.

However, on May 12, reports emerged that Omar was found concealed in a sheepfold beneath haystacks.

According to the public prosecutor’s office, they received a complaint alleging Omar’s presence in the house of a neighbor. Subsequently, an investigation led officers to the discovery of Omar in the cellar of his neighbor, identified as BA, aged 61.

The suspect attempted to escape but was apprehended and taken into custody.

While the investigation is ongoing, Omar is receiving medical and psychological care. A ministry spokesman denounced the crime as “heinous.”

Reportedly, Omar shared with his rescuers that he had occasionally glimpsed his family during his captivity but was unable to seek help due to a spell allegedly cast by his captor.

Omar’s mother passed away in 2013, unaware of her son’s fate