Sahara group demands ransom
01/08/2003 17:04  - (SA)  

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Berlin - A suspected Islamic group who took 14 European tourists hostage in the Sahara desert more than four months ago is demanding a ransom for their release, a German television station reported on Friday.

Reports indicate that a sum of 4.6 million euros is being demanded for each hostage.

The information was obtained by the station's reporter in Mali, where negotiations between the authorities and the hostage takers were reported to be in a "very active phase".

The 14 - nine Germans, four Swiss and one Dutchman - are believed to have been abducted by the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), a radical Islamic group with alleged links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

They went missing in February and March while travelling in Algeria's vast Sahara desert without local guides. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA

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