| Submit your comments on this article |
| North Africa |
| Search intensifies for Sahara tourists |
| 2003-05-12 |
| Germany's foreign minister has arrived in Algeria to discuss efforts to find 31 European tourists, believed to have been kidnapped during excursions in the Sahara desert. Joschka Fischer's trip adds to growing European pressure for the Algerian authorities to resolve the mystery. He is due to meet President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. "It is important that we that we bring home our compatriots, safe and sound, as soon as possible," he said on arrival in Algiers. Some of the tourists have been missing since February. A spokesman at the Germany foreign ministry said "the efforts to shed light on the fate of those who disappeared in Algeria will be at the centre of discussions". German news magazine Focus on Monday quoted "security sources" as saying the alleged abductors had demanded direct negotiations with German officials but that the demand had been rejected by the government in Algiers. The magazine said Berlin was troubled by Algeria's decision not to use German troops trained to deal with hostage crises. GSG-9 is standing by. One Swiss media report suggests that the tourists are alive and a ransom was being demanded for their return by a radical group called the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (SGPC). The group is allegedly linked to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. Among the missing tourists are 15 Germans, 10 Austrians, four Swiss nationals, a Dutchman and a Swede. |
| Posted by:Steve |