The family of kidnapped Syrian boy Fawwaz Al Qutayfan said it has raised the $200,000 needed for his ransom before the Wednesday deadline.
Fawwaz, 8, was last seen on November 2 on his way home from school when a gang on two motorcycles, three masked men and a woman, abducted him.
"We sold our jewellery and land to raise the amount," Mussab Al Qutayfan, the boy's uncle, told The National.
He said the family was working independently in communicating with the kidnappers.
"We are not working with anyone for the fear of endangering Fawwaz," he said. "We just want him to return home safely into our arms, and the arms of his country."
No arrangements have been made for the transfer of the money, Mr Al Qutayfan said.
The family was contacted via WhatsApp and then through the encrypted messaging service Telegram by the kidnappers, who asked for $200,000.
A video of the boy in his underwear, pleading with his abductors to stop beating him, was made public.
People on Twitter and other social media sites are using the hashtag #SaveFawazAlQatifan to urge authorities to find the boy.
Brig Gen Dirar Al Dandal, who heads the police force in Deraa, Syria, said several leads were being followed that would hopefully lead to "positive results".
A source close to the family said several people posing as good Samaritans had set up accounts in the family's name to swindle people out of funds purportedly raised for the ransom.
After the family told the kidnappers it had gathered most of the money, it was given until Wednesday to raise the full amount or they would "chop off" Fawwaz's fingers.
The phenomenon of kidnappings is not new to Deraa, the birthplace of the Syrian revolution and home to a fragmented security system split between armed militias, members of the opposition and forces loyal to the Assad regime.
