Hostages: Austria gets more time

2008-03-17 08:30

Bamako - Austria said on Sunday it had won more time to try to secure the release of two Austrian tourists being held hostage by al0-Qaeda in Mali's remote northeast Kidal region.

The captives, Andrea Kloiber, 43, and Wolfgang Ebner, 51, went missing while on holiday in Tunisia last month and the Algerian-based al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said it seized them on February 22.

Al-Qaeda had set a deadline of midnight on Sunday for its demands to be met, but Austria said this had been extended for an unspecified amount of time.

"Beyond the existing deadline which was to expire today, Sunday, more time for the efforts to free Andrea Kloiber and Wolfgang Ebner has been made available," Austrian foreign ministry spokesperson Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal said.

Austria 'agreed' to pay ransom

An Austrian diplomatic envoy had been working to try to obtain the release of the tourists.

"Efforts continue at all levels to achieve the speediest possible release of the two Austrians," Launsky-Tieffenthal added. He said relatives of the couple had been told of the development.

In neighbouring Algeria, security sources said Austria had accepted the principle of paying a ransom and discussions were focused around the sum of $6.7m.

Libya had agreed to act as an intermediary to help finalise the deal, using its influence with a local Tuareg tribe known as El Barabich, said the security sources.

There was no immediate comment from Austrian or Libyan officials on the reports.

Al-Qaeda demanded a ransom and the liberation of 10 militants held in Algeria and Tunisia within three days from midnight on Thursday, a deadline expiring at midnight on Sunday.

Austrian envoy starts negotiations

But the security sources in Algeria said al-Qaeda had stopped demanding the release of the prisoners and was now only interested in money.

Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik said earlier that the envoy had met the president of Mali, Amadou Toumani Toure, to discuss the case.

A senior Malian military officer confirmed information reported by an Algerian website, Ennahar, which said that the two hostages were being held captive in northern Mali.

"Intelligence shows their presence in Malian territory, in the Kidal region, more precisely in the Tegargar sector," the officer, who asked not to be named, said.

The Algerian Ennahar website, which specialised in security matters, said on Saturday the senior Austrian envoy had started negotiations by telephone with the kidnappers.

Plassnik did not confirm this. Mali straddled the Sahara and the arid Sahel belt to the south, a region roamed by smugglers, rebel groups and nomads.

Al-Qaeda's north Africa wing, which changed its name last year from the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), had long been involved in smuggling, money-laundering and protection rackets in the region.

- Reuters