Al-Qaida fears as French citizens seized in Mali
Source: Agencies |
November 25, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
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GUNMEN abducted two French citizens from a hotel in Mali yesterday, the first such attack in an area located far from the bases of al-Qaida-linked militants in the country's north.
Al-Qaida-linked fighters have often brought hostages to Mali from neighboring Niger, Mauritania and Algeria, holding them in the desert for months.
But the kidnapping in Hombori undermines the Malian government's position that most hostages are abducted elsewhere in the region where borders are porous.
"All these problems have always taken place a long way from us," said Maoulou Daou, a hotel owner in Hombori.
Daou said the two French men were abducted from another hotel, after the gunmen tied up the manager, guard and cook and went in search of the foreigners.
He said the French citizens were working on a site 35 kilometers outside Hombori where a company is hoping to extract a cement ingredient.
Military vehicles have been arriving from neighboring towns and security personnel are surrounding Hombori.
In France, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe confirmed the kidnapping in comments shown on i-Tele television.
"Two of our compatriots were kidnapped in Mali in conditions we do not know much about yet ... We are gathering information," he said.
The kidnapping is the first in Mali of Westerners south of the enormous Niger River.
If the hostage-taking is linked to al-Qaida's North Africa branch, they will have to be transported across the river to be moved to the group's bases in the north.
Al-Qaida-linked fighters have often brought hostages to Mali from neighboring Niger, Mauritania and Algeria, holding them in the desert for months.
But the kidnapping in Hombori undermines the Malian government's position that most hostages are abducted elsewhere in the region where borders are porous.
"All these problems have always taken place a long way from us," said Maoulou Daou, a hotel owner in Hombori.
Daou said the two French men were abducted from another hotel, after the gunmen tied up the manager, guard and cook and went in search of the foreigners.
He said the French citizens were working on a site 35 kilometers outside Hombori where a company is hoping to extract a cement ingredient.
Military vehicles have been arriving from neighboring towns and security personnel are surrounding Hombori.
In France, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe confirmed the kidnapping in comments shown on i-Tele television.
"Two of our compatriots were kidnapped in Mali in conditions we do not know much about yet ... We are gathering information," he said.
The kidnapping is the first in Mali of Westerners south of the enormous Niger River.
If the hostage-taking is linked to al-Qaida's North Africa branch, they will have to be transported across the river to be moved to the group's bases in the north.
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