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Qaeda puts back Mali hostage ultimatum
[Al Arabiya Latest] The north African branch of al-Qaeda, which was threatening to kill a French hostage, has put back an ultimatum that was due to expire at midnight, a Malian negotiator said on Saturday.Pierre Camatte was abducted from his hotel in Menaka, more than 1,500 kilometers (1,000 miles) from Mali's capital Bamako, in November. He is one of six Europeans being held by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which said it would execute the Frenchman if four of its members detained in Mali were not released by Jan. 30. A Malian negotiator told AFP late Saturday that AQIM had put the ultimatum back to an unspecified date. "The ultimatum has been put back by al-Qaeda. I have told the Malian government which has been in contact with France," the negotiator said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "No precise date was given, but we need to act quickly to find a solution," the negotiator said. The 61-year-old Camatte was a regular visitor to Mali, where he cultivates a plant used to treat malaria. He is the first Frenchman to be kidnapped by AQIM, and a source said that Paris had sent envoys to Bamako in recent days to try to secure his release. The Malian negotiator dismissed earlier reports that the hostage-takers were seeking a ransom. "The people who were talking about a ransom are crooks who claimed to be intermediaries but were just after money," the negotiator said.
Posted by: Fred 2010-02-01 |
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