Three kidnapped Spanish aid workers located in Mauritania

Three kidnapped Spanish aid workers located in Mauritania
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By h.b. - Dec 1, 2009 - 5:51 PM
Reports of their location are yet to be confirmed by the Spanish Foreign Ministry

From left to right, Roque Pascual Salazar, Alicia Gámez and Albert Vilalta - EFE

The three Spanish aid workers who were kidnapped in Mauritania on Sunday have now been located.
Sources at the Royal Consultative Council For Matters of the Sahara say that the two men and a woman are well, and are being held 150 kms. to the north of the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, close to Zuerat.

The three are from the Catalan organisation Barcelona-Acciò Solidaria, and it is to be noted that their spokesman, Francesc Osan, has made public a message from the Spanish Foreign Ministry which warns that there is, as yet, no official confirmation that the three have been located. Although the Foreign Ministry denies they have been located, western diplomats confirm the reports.

Once their location has been confirmed it is expected that negotiations for their release can get underway.

The three Spaniards were travelling at the rear of a convoy of vehicles on Sunday night delivering humanitarian aid to villages when they were taken on the road from Nouadhibou to Nouakchott.
It’s believed the kidnappers could be members of the North Africa branch of Al Qaeda, AQIM.

The companions of those being held were due to meet with the Spanish Ambassador on Monday night, although the caravan of aid of which they were part is to continue on its way, guarded by the Mauritanian Army as far as the border with Senegal.

The Mauritanian Army earlier said that their main priority was to prevent the kidnappers escaping the country through the desert over the border into Mali. El País notes that kidnappings in the area are generally resolved with the captives’ release in Mali after a minimum of six months, following payment of ransoms ranging from 3 to 5 million €.

In Spain, the opposition leader, Mariano Rajoy, has announced his party’s support for the families of the missing aid workers and for the Spanish government in its efforts to secure their release. The National Court has launched a judicial investigation into the kidnapping.

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