The Us State Department Issued A Warning To Travellers To Tunisia

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Al-Qaeda's North Africabranch Thursday called for the release of prisoners in Tunisiaand Algeriain exchange for freeing two Austrian tourists it claims to have kidnapped, a USmonitoring group said. The group gave Austrian authorities three days to comply starting at midnightThursday, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist websites.

The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) -- an Algerian-based off-shoot of Al-Qaeda -- said it had abducted the pair in Tunisiaon February 22 and warned Western tourists to stay away from northern Africa. "Consequently, the state of Austria is responsible for the lives of the two hostages in the event of the expiration of the time period and not responding to our demands," the organization said in communique issued to jihadist forums, according to SITE. "We call on Western tourists to avoid visiting the lands of the Islamic Maghreb, and he who was warned will not be excused," it said.

The message and Austrian press reports have named the two as Wolfgang Ebner, 51, and Andrea Kloiber, 44.

Ebner, a veteran desert expert, on February 18 phoned his son Bernhard Ebner from Tataouine in southeast Tunisiaand was due to call again on February 25, but never did. The family then alerted authorities who took the case to Interpol.

The message from AQIM included several images of Ebner and a woman, according to SITE. In the images, Ebner and the woman, her face obscured, are surrounded by a group of armed men at an unidentified desert locations.

On Tuesday the Arabic daily Annahar said the two Austrians had been taken by their captors to northern Mali. "The kidnappers have managed to get into the Sahel, crossing Algeriaand Libyato get back to their rear base in Mali," Annahar reported on its website, citing several unnamed Algerian sources.

Annahar chief Anis Rahmani told AFP that according to his sources, Algeria's army had "channelled the kidnappers towards Libyaand Mali, where the possibility of negotiations with the Austrian authorities for an eventual release of the hostages is greater."

Meanwhile the US State Department issued a warning to travellers to Tunisia in the wake of the kidnappings. "The Department of State advises US citizens to exercise extreme caution if traveling in this area. "AQIM is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, and the presence of AQIM in North Africapresents potential dangers to travelers." (AFP, le 13 mars 2008)

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