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Algeria: Tourists still missing
12/07/2003 19:08 - (SA)
Algiers - The fate of 15 European tourists who went missing in Algeria's southern Sahara desert as long ago as February is still unknown, two months after another group of trekkers was freed from their Islamic captors in a swoop by commandos.
All the European tourists went missing between February and March in Algeria's vast southern expanse of desert, where they were travelling without local guides.
A group of 10 Austrians, six Germans and one Swede were freed in mid-May when a crack squad of Algerian army commandos swooped on a hide-out to the north of the Sahara desert city of Tamanrasset, where the trekkers were being held by armed Islamic extremists.
None of the tourists was injured in the raid to free them, and it raised hopes and sparked rumours that the second group - made up of 10 Germans, four Swiss and one Dutch nationals - had been located and would be freed soon in a similar swoop.
German security sources said on May 19, days after the first group of tourists was released, that there "were no more European tourists in captivity in Algeria."
But they did not say how the second group of 15 trekkers had been freed, or what condition they were in.
The same day, the Algerian army denied there had been a raid to free the second group of European tourists.
Mystery
There has been little word on their whereabouts or wellbeing since then, and two months down the line, the mystery surrounding their disappearance is deepening.
Concern is rising over their health, too, with temperatures in Algeria's Sahara, where they are believed to be held, hovering at around 45°C.
No group has ever claimed to have kidnapped the still missing tourists, but suspicion focusses on the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), the largest rebel group still active in Algeria's 12-year-old civil war.
The Algerian authorities believe the tourists are being held near Illizi, a small town in mountainous terrain dotted with gorges, canyons and caves, near the Libyan border.
The area has been encircled by the Algerian army, standing watch for any sign of movement by the hostages and their captors.
But a recent sandstorm could have provided the kidnappers with the cover needed to escape elsewhere with their captives.
Early last month, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika fuelled hopes that the remaining European hostages would soon be freed when he offered an escape route to the Islamic extremists suspected of holding them.
"To save the lives of human beings, to save the hostages, I am ready to leave a way out for the terrorists... it is the most I can do," said Bouteflika after addressing the European parliament in Strasbourg.
Ransom
Days earlier, one of the sons of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on German radio that his country was "ready to help" find a way of resolving the mystery of the missing tourists.
This week in Algeria, the mass circulation daily Quotidien d'Oran said negotiations could be started between the governments of Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland, who are said to be prepared to pay a ransom of between €15m and €20m to secure the release of their nationals held in Algeria.
The ransom could be paid in Libya, and the kidnappers would be ensured that they would not be extradited to Algeria after collecting it, the paper said.
But, it added, Berlin - which has the largest number of nationals still in captivity in Algeria and would lead the negotiations - has had trouble making contact with the kidnappers, who have little if any means of effective communication.
Diplomats in Algiers say, however, that Germany has made contact with representatives of the GSPC.
- AFX
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