Sandra Maria Mariani, the Italian kidnapped on February 2 in the south of Algeria reported to be alive and in the hands of Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), in an audiotape released Friday at dawn by the television Al-Arabiya, based in Dubai. "I'm Italian and I was abducted Wednesday, February 2 in Algeria.
I am still held by Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, Tarek ibn Ziyad battalion. I call on Al-Arabiya to communicate this communication," says the hostage in halting French. The recording begins with the voice of a man speaking in Arabic: "We, Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, declare to hold the woman for Wednesday, February 2 and hope that she can contact their head of state.
" On 7 February, the agency's director of tourism Ténéré Kheirani Ahmed, told the Algerian daily El-Watan, quoting the guide that was briefly detained by the kidnappers: "A band of 13-14 armed men, speaking Mauritanian an Arab, came on board two 4 × 4, have invested the scene at sunset in the day Wednesday.
"Places" refer to Alidéna, instead of kidnapping in the Saharan region of Tadrart. A tribal leader from southern Algeria said that the Tuareg of Niger, Mali and Mauritania are talking about "all the same Mauritanian Arabic, an Arab different from that spoken by the Tuareg of Algeria." "The attackers were seeking a group of tourists, before confiscating phones and paper guide, guardian and a shepherd and pick everyone, including tourists, to an unknown destination," said Kheirani.
The three Algerians were later abandoned near the border between Algeria and Niger. The tourist, Sandra Maria Mariani, 53, first Westerner kidnapped since 2003 in this area of the Algerian Sahel, was 90 kilometers from the border with Niger, said Rome on February 4. AQIM has seven hostages, including five French kidnapped in September in the Niger desert.
Two other French hostages kidnapped in January in Niamey were found dead after French special forces operation to free them. AQIM was announced last July the execution of another French hostage Michel Germaneau, 78, kidnapped three months ago in Niger, after a failed military operation in Mali for release. 
I am still held by Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, Tarek ibn Ziyad battalion. I call on Al-Arabiya to communicate this communication," says the hostage in halting French. The recording begins with the voice of a man speaking in Arabic: "We, Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, declare to hold the woman for Wednesday, February 2 and hope that she can contact their head of state.
" On 7 February, the agency's director of tourism Ténéré Kheirani Ahmed, told the Algerian daily El-Watan, quoting the guide that was briefly detained by the kidnappers: "A band of 13-14 armed men, speaking Mauritanian an Arab, came on board two 4 × 4, have invested the scene at sunset in the day Wednesday.
"Places" refer to Alidéna, instead of kidnapping in the Saharan region of Tadrart. A tribal leader from southern Algeria said that the Tuareg of Niger, Mali and Mauritania are talking about "all the same Mauritanian Arabic, an Arab different from that spoken by the Tuareg of Algeria." "The attackers were seeking a group of tourists, before confiscating phones and paper guide, guardian and a shepherd and pick everyone, including tourists, to an unknown destination," said Kheirani.
The three Algerians were later abandoned near the border between Algeria and Niger. The tourist, Sandra Maria Mariani, 53, first Westerner kidnapped since 2003 in this area of the Algerian Sahel, was 90 kilometers from the border with Niger, said Rome on February 4. AQIM has seven hostages, including five French kidnapped in September in the Niger desert.
Two other French hostages kidnapped in January in Niamey were found dead after French special forces operation to free them. AQIM was announced last July the execution of another French hostage Michel Germaneau, 78, kidnapped three months ago in Niger, after a failed military operation in Mali for release.
- Mauritanian Forces Kill 3 In Explosives-Packed Car (02/02/2011)
- France: al-Qaida involved in Africa kidnapping - Washington Post (09/01/2011)
- Italian hostage in Algeria speaks in audio message (18/02/2011)
- France Rejects Al-Qaida Demands for Hostage Release (21/11/2010)
- Morocco Dismantles Al-Qaida-Linked Cell (05/01/2011)
No comments:
Post a Comment