Algerian ambassador to Mali Abdelkrim Gheraieb (L) speaks with

Algerian ambassador to Mali Abdelkrim Gheraieb (L) speaks with German ambassador to Mali, Reinhard Schwarzer (R) during a meeting of diplomats at the foreign ministry in Bamako on March 24, 2008. The representatives of these countries are working closely with Austrian authorities to find a solution to the kidnapping of two Austrian tourists by the Algeria-based group, Al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb. Andrea Kloiber, 44 and Wolfgang Ebner, 51, were abducted on February 22 as they were vacationing in the Tunisian desert and are now believed to be in northern Mali. The group is demanding the release of a number of Islamists imprisoned in Algeria and Tunisia in exchange for the Austrians' freedom. Austrian media reported the group was demanding five million euros (7.9 million dollars), although officially Vienna has refused to consider paying a ransom.
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