Algerians kidnapped in north Mali 'are fine'

Seven Algerian nationals who were kidnapped in northeast Mali in April "are fine", Algeria's minister for Maghreb and African affairs said Sunday. "The issue is very sensitive and needs discretion," Abdelkader Messahel said at a press conference when questioned about the fate of Algeria's consul in Gao and six of his colleagues who were abducted by a self-styled Al-Qaeda offshoot in the northeastern Malian town on April 5. "All I can say is that the hostages are fine," he said. The kidnappers, the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO), first emerged in December, presenting themselves as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and claiming the kidnap of three aid workers -- two Spanish and an Italian -- from Tindouf, Algeria. MUJAO is demanding the release of two Sahrawis arrested by Mauritania for their role in the kidnapping, as well as 30 million euros ($40 million). When the Algerian consul was kidnapped along with his colleagues MUJAO claimed responsibility, demanding 15 million euros for their release. At the end of April the group announced talks with Algiers had broken down and on May 8 they announced a 30-day deadline for their demands to be met. MUJAO, along with AQIM, have allied with Islamist group Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith), who occupied a large part of northern Mali along with Tuareg rebels in March after a coup d'etat in Bamako. The Islamists want to create a strict Islamic state while the Tuareg want independence for a region they see as their homeland. Aside from the hostages held by MUJAO, AQIM is holding six French citizens kidnapped from Niger and Mali.