Hostage crisis in Algeria as Mali offensive continues
Nigerian soldiers arrive at the airport in Bamako on January 17, 2013. Over one hundred Nigerian and Togolese soldiers arrived in Bamako today as part of the West African force meant to help French troops chase Islamists from their strongholds in northern Mali. ECOWAS promised more than 3,000 soldiers to back Operation Serval, launched on January 11.
Rebels are claiming that at least 34 hostages and 15 of their captors have been killed in Algeria after militants stormed an oil facility in the country's south, according to Mauritania’s ANI news agency, which Eurasia says "has close ties to the militant group" believed responsible for the Wednesday attack that took an unknown number captive.
French President Francois Hollande said Thursday that events in Algeria support the France's ground offensive in neighboring Mali, according to Al Jazeera.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius emerged from EU talks on Mali Thursday and said some European countries were considering lending France a hand in its fight against Islamist militants in the north African country of Mali, according to Al Jazeera.
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