Islamists issue ultimatum on kidnapped diplomats

An Islamist group that abducted seven Algerian diplomats in Mali has warned Algiers that if it fails to meet its demands within 30 days, the hostages' lives will be in danger. "We are issuing an ultimatum of less than 30 days to the Algerian government to meet our demands, or the lives of the hostages will be in great danger," said a text from the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). "The hostages are still alive," added the statement, which was written by spokesman Adnan Abu Walid Sahraoui and sent to AFP. "The Algerian government knows our demands ... There is still time for talks. Afterwards, it will be too late." The group, an offshoot of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), abducted the Algerian consul and six members of his team from Gao, northeastern Mali, on April 5. On May 2, it called on Algeria to release an unspecified number of Islamist militants and pay a ransom of 15 million euros ($19.5 million). So far, Algiers had failed to meet those demands, said the statement. The same group claimed the abduction last October of three aid workers from a camp for Sahrawi refugees near Tindouf in western Algeria: two Spanish nationals, a man and a woman; and an Italian woman. They have demanded 30 million euros and the release of two Sahrawis held in Mauritania in return for the two women being held. He made no mention of the Spanish male hostage.