Fourteen European tourists held hostage in the North African desert for about six months were released today, said officials in Mali, the country where they were held for the latter part of their ordeal. The 14, who were seized by militants in Algeria in February and March, were turned over to Malian officials this evening, said a spokesman for President Amadou Touré. Jürgen Chrobog, the German deputy foreign minister who went to Bamako, the Malian capital, on Sunday to receive the hostages, told reporters there that the hostages had been released. “The Malian president told me that all the hostages are freed, and they will be in Bamako tomorrow,” he said. The hostages – nine from Germany, four from Switzerland and one from the Netherlands – were reported to have been brought to the northern Malian oasis of Tessalit, from which they were expected to be flown to Bamako and then to Europe. The release came after a tense two days during which reports that the hostages had been released alternated with other reports that they were still being held captive. Full Story
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