Speaking in Kampala, Uganda, Minister for Foreign Affairs Mourad Medelci said that Algeria regrets the assassination by terrorists of 78-year old French hostage Michel Germaneau, held in the Sahel region since last April.

 

“Algeria’s position is very clear: We are against terrorism in general and hostage-taking in particular,” said Mr. Medelci in s statement to the press at the margins of the 15th ordinary session of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union, which is convening in the Ugandan capital (25-27 July).

“Like all other countries, we regret what happened in Mali over the past few days and our position is clear in this respect,” said the head of Algerian diplomacy, underlining that “Algeria, like the countries of the African Union, remains determined to fight against this practice and it supports making it a crime to pay ransoms” (to hostage-takers).

Responding to a question relating to the consequences if such an act on the security situation in the Sahel region, namely in the north of Mali, the minister, who called the execution of the French hostage “something that we unfortunately have seen before and that we see again”, indicated that “it makes the countries of the region more determined to continue to work together.” Mr. Medelci stated that “there is no reason why an event could jeopardize the political willingness at the highest level of the countries (of the Sahel), which are directly concerned by their own future with regards to security and development.”

Discussing likely measures that the African union might take in the Sahel region, as it did in Somalia, Mr. Medelci said that “for the time being, that issue is not on the agenda of the AU, considering that the countries of the Sahel have organized themselves with the active participation of Algeria in order to handle by themselves any security-related issues.” “We are Africans and the AU is interested in the Sahel,” said Algeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister, adding that “for the moment, the countries of the region are handling security by themselves”, before underlining that “this does not exclude cooperation with other countries, when that becomes necessary.”