Rebels offer up suspect
2004-07-20 21:31
Dakar - Rebels claiming to hold the Sahara's most-wanted terror suspect have offered to turn him over to his Algerian homeland - but only if international journalists and aid workers monitor the transfer, the rebels said on Tuesday.
Amari Saifi, the only known surviving leader of an Algerian armed group allied to al-Qaeda, is believed to have been in the custody of rebels of the West African nation of Chad since earlier this year.
Rebels said they came across Saifi and accomplices in the desert as the men wandered, lost, and in flight from West African armed forces trying to catch them.
Brahim Tchouma, spokesperson for Chad rebels Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad, told The Associated Press rebels had told Algeria they would make the transfer, on one condition.
"We want to do it in the presence of international media and aid workers," Tchouma said.
Saifi's captors fear for his safety otherwise, the spokesperson said.
A former special operations paratrooper for Algeria, Saifi was the No 2 commander of the violent Salafist Group for Call and Combat insurgency against Algeria's government.
Saifi is wanted in the killings of 42 Algerian soldiers and the kidnapping of 32 European tourists, both last year.
The United States and European and African countries have pressed the Chad rebels for months to turn Saifi over to Algeria.
Won't trust anyone
Rebels claimed earlier this month to have handed over two of Saifi's accomplices to Libya, which they said had recently begun acting as an intermediary in talks for the surrender of Saifi himself.
Days after that reported handover, Libya told the AP it had killed two Salafist terror suspects at the border with Chad.
There was no confirmation that the two were the same, but the announcement angered the rebels, who accused Libya and Algeria of killing the two in cold blood to silence them.
"We do not trust anyone after what happened with Libya. We need a neutral presence," Tchouma said.
Algerian media quoted Algerian Interior Minister Yazid Zerhouni as saying this week that his country had initiated contacts with the Chad rebels to try to get Saifi and open the way for his trial in Algeria.
"The ball is in the Algerians' camp. We are awaiting their response," Tchouma, speaking by telephone, said of negotiations for the handover.
There was no immediate comment on Tuesday from Algerian authorities.
- SAPA