Al-Qaeda extends deadline for kidnapped tourists amid reports of Libyan mediation

25/03/2008

As al-Qaeda kidnappers extend the deadline for two Austrian tourists believed held in Mali, some reports indicate that the son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi may be assisting with confidential negotiations to obtain their release.

Jamel Arfaoui in Tunis contributed to this report – 25/03/08

[Getty Images] Austrian diplomat Anton Prohaska talks to reporters in Bamako, where he met with Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure to discuss the kidnapping of two Austrian citizens.

In an internet statement posted on Monday (March 24th), al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb extended its deadline for freeing two kidnapped Austrian tourists until April 6th. According to the SITE Institute, which monitors extremist websites, the message said, "Let Austria, Tunisia and Algeria be responsible for the lives of the kidnapped". The terrorist group added that when this "final" extension expires, it "will have exhausted what [it] could bear".

Tourists Andrea Kloiber, 43, and Wolfgang Ebner, 51, were kidnapped on February 22nd in the remote desert border area between Tunisia and Algeria and are now reportedly being held at an al-Qaeda base in the Kidal region of north-eastern Mali. The kidnappers made the Austrians' safe return contingent on a ransom payment and the release of ten Islamists imprisoned in Tunisia and Algeria. The second al-Qaeda deadline expired on Sunday at midnight.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's son Seif al-Islam "is holding negotiations with the kidnappers …and hopes that the issue will be resolved in a positive way", Austrian political leader and regional governor Jörg Haider told the Austrian state news agency on Saturday. Seif al-Islam's Kadhafi Foundation denied any mediation initiative, but Haider claimed after the denial Sunday that the endeavour was a personal, confidential move by the man and not one pre-arranged with the Austrian Foreign Ministry.

In 2003, a charity run by Seif al-Islam managed to secure the release of 15 European hostages held by the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. The kidnappers received a ransom estimated at $10m.

The Austrian government has welcomed Kadhafi's efforts, but refused to confirm that it had requested help from Tripoli. "For the sake of the hostages' safety and that of the people dealing on the ground, we do not want to give out any operation details," AFP quoted Austrian foreign ministry spokesman Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal as saying.

Nasreddine ben Hadid, an expert in Maghreb issues, commented that Libya's involvement was a good indication that the kidnapping crisis would end peacefully. "Libya had, and still has, a presence in the African Sahel. The Libyan regime has contacts with all organisations from across the political spectrum, and has major influence on most of them. The release of the two hostages would be a new opportunity for the Libyan regime to confirm to the West that it is the only entity that holds the keys of stability in the area in its hands," he told Magharebia.

"The kidnappers will certainly play on everybody's nerves, but in the end they will respond to Libyan mediation," Ben Hadid added.

The kidnapping crisis also coincides with the release last week of two audio taped messages believed to contain the voice of Osama Bin Laden. Some have questioned whether the messages would have any negative effect on negotiations for releasing the two hostages.

"I don't think that the fate of the two tourists will be dependent on what Bin Laden said," Tunisian expert in Islamic affairs Slaheddine Jourchi told Magharebia. "Rather, it will be dependent on the Austrians' ability to run the negotiations, and whether they will accept the conditions laid out or not, or whether security authorities…in the area will consider a military operation," he said.

In related news, Austrian diplomat Anton Prohaska met with Malian President Amadou Toumani Toure to discuss the investigation. Reuters reported, however, that the Mali government feels the kidnapped tourists may have been moved out of the country after a deadly attack last week by Touareg rebels on an Army convoy near Tin-Zaouatene on the Algerian border.