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17/01/2013
NI Man Still Held Hostage In Algeria
A man from Northern Ireland is still being held hostage by a group of Islamic militants in Algeria.
The 36-year-old Belfast man is being held at a gas facility at In Amenas, in the east of the country.
About 20 foreign nationals are thought be held hostage by the group, which attacked and occupied the gas facility on Wednesday.
A Briton and an Algerian have been killed in the attack.
Algerian troops have now surrounded the facility.
The Belfast man is travelling on an Irish passport.
Irish Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has called for the man's immediate release.
"The government stands ready to use all the resources available to us to ensure that our citizen is released as soon as possible," he said.
"I would ask that the family be allowed privacy at this difficult time."
The attack follows the stationing of French troops in neighbouring Mali to remove Islamist militants.
French aircraft has been attacking targets in Mali since the militants’ uprising last week.
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kabila said the militants at the facility wanted to leave the country with the hostages, but he had refused to let them go.
"We reject all negotiations with the group, which is holding some 20 hostages from several nationalities," he said.
The kidnappers are thought to be Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a former senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The motives of the kidnappers are as yet unknown. Speculation suggests the militants may want the release of 100 Islamist prisoners currently detained in Algeria, or the end of the French military operation in Mali.
(IT)
The 36-year-old Belfast man is being held at a gas facility at In Amenas, in the east of the country.
About 20 foreign nationals are thought be held hostage by the group, which attacked and occupied the gas facility on Wednesday.
A Briton and an Algerian have been killed in the attack.
Algerian troops have now surrounded the facility.
The Belfast man is travelling on an Irish passport.
Irish Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has called for the man's immediate release.
"The government stands ready to use all the resources available to us to ensure that our citizen is released as soon as possible," he said.
"I would ask that the family be allowed privacy at this difficult time."
The attack follows the stationing of French troops in neighbouring Mali to remove Islamist militants.
French aircraft has been attacking targets in Mali since the militants’ uprising last week.
Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould Kabila said the militants at the facility wanted to leave the country with the hostages, but he had refused to let them go.
"We reject all negotiations with the group, which is holding some 20 hostages from several nationalities," he said.
The kidnappers are thought to be Algerian and operating under orders from Mokhtar Belmokhtar, a former senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The motives of the kidnappers are as yet unknown. Speculation suggests the militants may want the release of 100 Islamist prisoners currently detained in Algeria, or the end of the French military operation in Mali.
(IT)
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