11/03/2013

Hague Pays Tribute To Construction Worker

William Hague has paid tribute to a British construction worker he said is likely to have been "killed at the hands of his captors" in Nigeria.

The Foreign Secretary described the killing of Brendan Vaughan as "an unforgiveable act of pure cold-blooded murder", in a statement on Sunday.

The announcement was made following al-Qaida-affiliated Nigerian Islamist group Ansaru's release of an image online of what appeared to be several dead bodies.

Mr Vaughan, who was working for Lebanese construction company Setraco, was kidnapped on 16 February along with colleagues from Greece, Italy and Lebanon.

A silent video posted on the internet by Ansaru has been dated 9 March and depicts a gunman standing next to a pile of bodies.

The video is entitled "The Killing of the seven Christian hostages in Nigeria,” in Arabic.

The deaths are already being described as the most deadly Islamist terror attack yet on foreign workers in Nigeria.

The group said the attack was retaliation against what it saw as attempts by the British and Nigerian governments to launch a rescue mission.

But the MoD has said no such operation had been launched.

"Responsibility for this tragic outcome rests squarely with the terrorists," said Mr Hague.

"I am grateful to the Nigerian government for their unstinting help and co-operation. We are utterly determined to work with them to hold the perpetrators of this heinous act to account, and to combat the terrorism which so blights the lives of people in northern Nigeria and in the wider region."

(IT)

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