Searchers looking for 31 European tourists who vanished in the Sahara Desert have found what appears to be their abandoned vehicles, clothing and food. But the fate of the tourists themselves remained unclear and officials differed in their accounts, including whether talks were under way to free the missing tourists. “All, or at least some, are still alive,” Algerian Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni he told a parliamentary commission Tuesday, without elaborating. The remarks were published Wednesday by Liberte newspaper. The minister denied that negotiations were under way with the presumed kidnappers, as previously reported by Algerian media. But on Sunday, parliamentary official Mohammed Guerrout told Algeria Radio talks had started. “The tourists are indeed alive, and negotiations are taking place to win their release,” said Guerrout, president of a parliamentary commission on tourism and culture. Full Story
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