UPDATED ON:
Monday, April 07, 2008
15:10 Mecca time, 12:10 GMT
 
News Europe
Austrian hostage deadline expires
Ebner and Kloiber were kidnapped while
holidaying in Tunisia [AFP]

A deadline set by an al-Qaeda affiliate for authorities to release jailed members in return for two Austrian tourists sezied in Tunisia has expired, with no news on their condition.
 
Al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa had given authorities until midnight [2300 GMT Sunday] to free its members in exchange for Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber.
Ebner and Kloiberg went missing in February while on holiday. Two previous deadlines expired on March 16 and 23.
 
Austrian authorities have not confirmed whether they have received a direct final ultimatum from the al-Qaeda branch.
Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, Austrian foreign ministry spokesman, said on Sunday afternoon that authorities felt that more time was available.
 
He said efforts to secure the release of the couple were continuing.
 
Release effort
 
It is unclear where the hostages are being held, but Austrian officials have been in Bamako, the capital of Mali, for some time.
 
Some media reports have suggested that Ebner and Kloiber are situated inside Mali, close to its border with Algeria.
 
Anton Prohaska, a former Austrian ambassador who has led release efforts in Bamako, said on Sunday evening that he and Malian authorities believed they had time to secure the couple's release.
 
But Al-Qaeda in Islamic North Africa said in an online statement on March 24 that the new deadline was a final extension.
 
Previously, the kidnappers warned that any attempt to free the hostages would result in their execution.
 
The group first said on March 10 in an audio recording that it seized Ebner and Kloiber because of Western co-operation with Israel.
 
In an interview on Sunday with the daily Kurier newspaper, Ebner's adult son, Bernhard, said he was not worried that anything major would happen if the latest deadline expired.
 
Austrian radio, citing no sources, reported early last week that the al-Qaeda affiliate wanted Austrian soldiers stationed in Afghanistan to withdraw.
 
Austrian troops are serving as part of Nato's International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in the country.
 
The radio report also said the al-Qaeda group was seeking the release of a couple recently convicted in Vienna, the Austrian capital, for involvement in a video which threatened Austria and Germany with attacks.
 Source: Agencies
 
ARTICLE TOOLS
 Email Article  Email article
 Print Article  Print article
 Send Feedback  Send feedback
 Share article  Share article