Hostages killed in Algeria

Escalation in Africa as al-Qaeda militants seek immediate retribution for French invasion of Mali.

Radio New Zealand featured a British 'expert' who opined that this histage-taking had nothing to do with other events and was purely a regional operation of a 'commercial nature'. No doubt we will be getting a whole barrage of lies in coming days.

Dozens of hostages 'killed' in Algeria

Military raid to free foreigners seized at desert gas plant reportedly leaves 34 hostages and 15 kidnappers dead.

al-Jazeera,
17 January, 2013

Thirty-four hostages and 15 kidnappers have been killed in eastern Algeria after the military launched a rescue attempt, according to the group holding the hostages.

Thursday's reported deaths came a day after dozens of foreigners and Algerians were taken hostage by heavily armed fighters near the In Amenas gas field.

The fighters said they seized the hostages in retaliation for Algeria letting France use its airspace to launch operations against rebels in northern Mali , but security experts said the raid appeared to have been planned well in advance.

The spokesman for the Masked Brigade, which had claimed responsibility for the abductions on Wednesday, told Mauritanian ANI news agency that the deaths were a result of an Algerian government helicopter attack on a convoy transporting hostages and kidnappers.

The official Algerian APS news agency, citing local sources, said an unspecified number of people were killed in the military rescue attempt.

It said nearly 600 Algerian workers and four foreign hostages - two Britain, two Britons, a Frenchman and a Kenyan - had been freed during the operation.

The Irish foreign ministry said an Irish man had also been freed.

Refusal to negotiate

Algerian media, citing officials, reported that 15 foreigners and 30 Algerians had managed to escape.

The Masked Brigade spokesman said Abou el-Baraa, the leader of the kidnappers, was among those killed in the helicopter attack. He said the fighters would kill the rest of their captives if the army approached.

Algeria has refused to negotiate with what it says is a band of about 20 fighters.

Youcef Bouandel, professor of International Affairs, talks to Al Jazeera about the crisis

Algerian Interior Minister Daho Ould dismissed theories that the fighters had come from Libya, 100km away, or from Mali, more than 1,000km away. He said the well-armed gunmen were from Algeria itself, operating under orders from Moktar Belmoktar, al-Qaeda's strongman in the Sahara.

ANI, which has been in constant contact with the al-Qaeda-affiliated kidnappers, said seven hostages were still being held: two Americans, three Belgians, one Japanese and one British citizen.

Norwegians, French, Romanian and Malaysian citizens were also among those taken hostage.

The White House said it believed Americans were among the hostages and was concerned about reports of loss of life.

"This is an ongoing situation and we are seeking clarity," spokesman Jay Carney told reporters.

Japanese critical

Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Minoru Kiuchi, who is now in Algeria, urged the Algerian government to put an "immediate end" to the military operation.

Britain was not given prior notice of the Algerian government operation to release hostages and would have

preferred to have been informed, Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said.

A Briton was among two people killed on Wednesday, after fighters launched an ambush of a bus carrying employees from the gas plant to the nearby airport.

The In Amenas gas field is jointly operated by British oil giant BP, Norway's Statoil and Algeria's Sonatrach.

France launched a major offensive against the rebel group Ansar al-Dine in Mali on January 11 to prevent them from advancing on the capital, Bamako.

Algeria had long warned against military intervention against the rebels, fearing the violence could spill over the border.

Al Jazeera's Paul Brennan, following the hostage situation from London, said Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has allied himself with the West in the fight against al-Qaeda.

"As recently as last year it seemed that he was turning the last stronghold of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the mountains up in the north where the Berber people are natives, against those Arabs that have been coming in from outside," he said. "The Algerian authorities have been enjoying significant successes in targeting al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb leaders."

Hollande: hostage crisis justifies Mali raids

French president says crisis justifies Mali intervention as French contingent in former colony reaches 1,400

al-Jazeera,

17 January, 2013

Francois Hollande, French president, has said the on-going hostage crisis in Algeria is evidence that France's military intervention in Mali is justified.

Speaking to business leaders in Paris on Thursday, Hollande said "What's happening in Algeria provides further evidence that my decision to intervene in Mali was justified."

Hollande's statement comes hours after the contingent of French troops in the West African nation reaches 1,400. That number represents more than half the total of 2,500 it plans to deploy in its former colony, Jean-Yves Le Drian, defence minister, said.

The soldiers have been sent to the West African state as part of an operation against al-Qaeda linked groups who are in control of the north.

Troop numbers have risen quickly since the first French forces were deployed on January 11 after armed groups seized the town of Konna.

On Wednesday, French troops began direct ground combat against fighters belonging to al-Qaeda-linked groups, including Ansar al-Dine.

Ansar al-Dine fighters and their Tuareg allies occupied northern Mali in April 2012

The Malian army, backed by French troops, was still fighting to retake Konna on Thursday.

The French are also involved in a battle for the town of Diabaly, which is within government-controlled territory and was seized by fighters on Monday in a counter offensive launched after the first French airtrikes around Konna.

International support

The first 200 troops of the 2,000-strong contribution pledged by Chad to the African force in Mali have left N'Djamena, a senior military official said on Thursday.

"Two hundred Chadian special forces left N'Djamena last night," the official told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity, adding that the contingent was currently at a military base in Niger.

Meanwhile, Western nations have offered to help France logistically, but have stopped short of pledging to send combat troops.

During a meeting of European foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday, the EU approved sending 450 to 500 non-combat troops, half of them trainers, to Mali as quickly as possible.

"The Dutch government supports the French action in Mali," said Frans Timmermans, Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the meeting.

"It was necessary, to make sure that Mali will not be overrun by Jihadist terrorists and the next stage would be for the EU doing its utmost to make sure that the UN-mandated mission in Mali can become a success."

No combat role is envisioned for the EU training mission.

While the US takes the fight with al Qaeda-affiliated fighters in Mali "very seriously," according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday, it has not yet agreed to provide assistance to the French-led mission.

Panetta added that Washington is considering how to best offer its support for the foreign intervention, adding that, "I'm confident that we're going to be able to provide that assistance."