Diplomats said Wednesday that progress is being made in efforts to secure the release of two Austrians held by an Al-Qaeda linked group for the past three months. Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber were seized in Tunisia by Al-Qaeda's north African offshoot but are now believed to be held in The diplomatic metaphor conveys the delicacy and painstaking pace of the indirect negotiations over the pair. "Things are progressing, but slowly," added a Malian official within the negotiating team. "Contact has been made on several occasions through intermediaries. What is important is that the hostages are alive, and that the kidnappers respect their commitment to keeping them alive."
Ebner, 51 and Kloiber, 44, were taken hostage on February 22 in Tunisia's southeastern Sahara region, but are believed to have been moved to Mali. In mid-April, an Austrian envoy said negotiators had received proof that the two were still alive. Several ultimatum deadlines have passed but Austria says it still believes they can be saved.
Prohaska said negotiators "would have left Bamako already," if they didn't believe the pair would be found "safe and well."
The kidnappers have threatened to kill the hostages if attempts are made to free them by force.
| That's pretty much SOP, isn't it? |
According to a western diplomat in Bamako, the hostages are being held in an area on Mali and Algeria's border. That complicates negotiations, because rebel Tuaregs are active in the area and operations are difficult to organise without the approval of Algiers.