Movements mediating for release of Algerian diplomats

Algerian diplomats were kidnapped in northern Mali Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci has said on Wednesday that the National Movement for the Liberation of Azwad and the Ansar El-Din movement are negotiating for the release of Algerian diplomats kidnapped in northern Mali. He stated that Algeria is determined to "continue its efforts to save the lives of Algerian diplomats kidnapped by the Tawhid West African Jihad movement.” At a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee of Algeria, Medelci warned against military intervention in the territory of northern Mali saying: "It would be too dangerous to wage war on the National Movement for the Liberation of Azwad in northern Mali." The minister also accused Western countries of attempting to drag Algeria into a war against Tawarek and Azwad under the pretext of extremism despite his insistence that the group is not involved in terrorist activities. Medelci attributed the Libyan authorities' decision to close its border with Algeria to the deteriorating security in cities on the Libyan borders, stressing that both countries are working on filling the security gaps that allowed smuggling of a significant quantity of weapons to the coast of Africa.