Updated

The French ambassador to Madagascar says a French boy kidnapped in the country's southwest has been released after being held for three days.

French ambassador Francois Goldblatt announced the release on Twitter Friday evening saying the boy is in good health.

Houssein Anvaraly, 12, was kidnapped outside his school in the town of Toliara on Tuesday.

Anvaraly comes from a family with South Asian roots and may have another nationality in addition to his French citizenship.

The French embassy gave no details about the motive behind the kidnapping or any information about how Anvaraly was released, but said the event was "extremely serious" and that the abduction of French citizens would not go unpunished.

The have been a number of high-profile kidnappings, apparently for ransom, in Madagascar in recent months.