Friday 18 January 2013

Malaysians held hostage in Algeria

Two Malaysians are among a group of 41 people who had been held hostage at the In Amenas gas facility in Algeria.

Wisma Putra said in a statement that it had been informed that the duo, working at the gas field, and the others were taken captive by terrorists in an attack on Wednesday.

The Foreign Ministry has contacted the families of the Malaysians. No names were released.

Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman is in touch with his Algerian counterpart Mourad Medelci in determining whether there are other Malaysians involved and also to ensure the safety and secure the release of the duo.

There are 56 Malaysians registered with the Malaysian embassy in Algiers, excluding the two taken captive.

A spokesman said the embassy had sent an e-mail to them, updating them on the situation and urging them to take precautions.

“We have at the same time been trying to get more details from them on the two detained Malaysians as they are not registered with us,” he said via telephone.

According to the latest updates from news wires last night, an Algerian air strike has killed 34 hostages, some of them Wester-ners, and 15 of the kidnappers at the gas facility.

The ANI news agency quoted a spokesman for the kidnappers as claiming that the hostages were killed in an air raid but did not elaborate.

Source : TheStar

0 comments:

Post a Comment