Live blog: French national killed in Algeria hostage crisis
Latest update : 2013-01-20
Follow the third day of a deadly hostage crisis at a gas plant in southern Algeria as it happened on FRANCE 24’s live blog.
- On the third day of a tense hostage standoff, Algerian state news agency said nearly 100 of the 132 foreign nationals were freed from the In Amenas gas facility in southeastern Algeria. Of the 650 hostages liberated, 573 were Algerians.
- About 30 foreign nationals were still unaccounted for, according to the Algerian state news agency.
- French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said a French hostage was killed in the rescue operation while three others were saved.
- US officials said one American has died in the hostage standoff, according to the Associated Press.
- US officials have confirmed that some Americans are still being held hostage in Algeria, but have refused to provide details.
- Mauritanian ANI news agency said militants are demanding the release of “Blind Sheikh” Omar Abdel Rehman, mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombings, and Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani neuroscientist serving sentence for attempted murder. Both are in US prisons.
- US officials have refused to “negotiate with terrorists”.
Click below to follow the events as they occurred during the day.
Date created : 2013-01-18
