Mauritania: Minister condemns Italian kidnappings

The kidnappers have demanded the release of Al-Qaeda combatants held in Mauritania. They also demanded the release of four Islamists held in Mali who have since been freed, securing the safety of a French hostage.

Rome, 23 March (AKI) - Mauritania's foreign minister Naha Mint Hamdi Ould Mouknass on Tuesday condemned the kidnapping of Italian Sergio Cicala and his wife Philomene Kaboure, abducted in the country's south in December. The couple were kidnapped by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb before being transferred to neighbouring Mali.

The kidnappers have set a deadline of 25 March for their demands to be met.

"I express my regret and I condemn the kidnapping of the two Italian citizens in Mauritania as a criminal act," Mouknass said.

The minister was attending a bilateral conference on Mauritania held at the Italian foreign affairs ministry in Rome and met Italy's foreign minister Franco Frattini, who later said he was working with Mauritania and Mali to free the couple.

Mouknass said that those responsible had all been arrested by security forces and would pay "a high price for a crime that is against our principles".

She also said that the country's security forces had stepped up security to "guarantee the peace of Mauritanian citizens and foreigners who pass through the country".

Speaking outside the Rome conference, Frattini declined to give details but said the Italian government was mindful of the 25 March deadline and working closely with the government of Mali to free the couple.

The kidnappers have demanded the release of Al-Qaeda combatants held in Mauritania. They also demanded the release of four Islamists held in Mali who have since been freed, securing the safety of a French hostage.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb initially gave Italian authorities until 1 March to respond to demands for the release of the couple and then postponed the deadline.