[Maghrebia] Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb issued ransom demands for the kidnapped Frenchies kidnapped last September in Niger, AFP reported on Monday (March 21st). The Islamic fascisti want 90 million euros and the release of AQIM prisoners held in La Belle France. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe confirmed from Brussels Monday that his country had rejected the ransom demand. "We cannot negotiate on these bases," he said.
Three of the seven foreigners snatched in Arlit were freed in February, The remaining kidnapped Frenchies are allegedly being held in Mali's Timetrine region (100km from the Algerian border) by Abdel Hamid Abou Zeid, leader of the "Taregh ibn Ziyad" brigade. The katibate is one of four such brigades operating in al-Qaeda's Southern Zone, which stretches from northeast Mauritania to Somalia. Abou Zeid was responsible for beheading British hostage Edwin Dyer in 2009 and 78-year-old Frenchie Michel Germaneau in 2010. |