A British security consultant kidnapped six days ago by armed gunmen in Somalia has been released, the charity Save the Children says.
The Zimbabwean-born man was seized in the town of Adado last Thursday.
A local colleague seized with him was freed the next day.
A ransom was paid, according to local elders quoted by the AFP news agency, who were involved in negotiating the man’s release.
Save the Children said that the man was now heading to a place to safety.
Mr Barnard had gone to the area to see if it was safe enough for Save the Children to set up a new base to help malnourished and sick children, along with their families.
But on Thursday evening, a group of masked gunmen stormed the building used as a staff residence.
High walls and a heavy steel gate reportedly forced the kidnappers to climb in through a window before they fled with their hostages into an area said to be controlled by the hardline Islamist group al-Shabab, which has links to al-Qaeda.
Adado, which is near the Ethiopian border, is also closely linked to pirate groups who routinely take ships and crew hostage and demand hefty ransoms.
Until now, Adado had been seen as a relatively stable part of Somalia, with aid groups considering relocating there after being forced out of more volatile regions.
Several foreigners have been kidnapped in Somalia in recent years.
Most have been freed unhurt after a ransom has been paid.
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