COLOMBIA/ALGERIA: Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos confirms Colombian killed in Algeria gas plant crisis, adds Colombian military ready for end of unilateral ceasefire by FARC

Record ID: 574151

  • Title: COLOMBIA/ALGERIA: Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos confirms Colombian killed in Algeria gas plant crisis, adds Colombian military ready for end of unilateral ceasefire by FARC
  • Date: 19th January 2013
  • Summary: IN AMENAS, ALGERIA (JANUARY 19, 2013) (REUTERS) ROAD SIGN WHICH READS IN ARABIC AND ENGLISH: 'IN AMENAS' STREET VIEW VARIOUS OF SAHARA DESERT IN IN AMENAS VEHICLE DRIVING THROUGH SAHARA DESERT MORE OF ROAD SIGN
  • Embargoed: 3rd February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cuba
  • Country: Cuba
  • Topics: Crime,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAAJPMPPLO26MN1TKN1NYT9XNBS
  • Story Text: Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos confirmed on Saturday (January 19) that a Colombian was among the dead at a desert gas plant siege by Islamic militants in Algeria.

    "This attack in Algeria, these radical groups who have left behind many victims and sadly, everything seems to indicate that one of those victims was Colombian. A Colombian, Carlos Estrada. He worked for British Petroleum for 18 years," Santos said.
    According to the Algerian interior minister, a total of 23 hostages and 32 militants were killed after an attack on a gas plant in the Algerian desert.
    Giving what it said was the final death toll of the attack at In Amenas, it also said 107 foreign hostages and 685 Algerian hostages had been released.
    Additionally, Santos also told the crowd that the Colombian armed forces would be ready when a unilateral FARC ceasefireon January 20.

    "The unilateral ceasefire announced by the FARCtomorrow and the truth be told, they have fulfilled it with some exceptions. But we also have to tell the Colombian people that we are prepared. Our public forces, like the army and the navy and like the air force and the police, know perfectly well what to do as of tomorrow," Santos said.
    Talks to bring an end to Latin America's longest-running insurgency began in Cuba in November 2012, when the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, sat down for the first round of talks.
    The FARC has said it will lift its two-month-long unilateral ceasefire on Sunday (January 20), raising concern a re-energized group will launch new attacks against military and civilian targets.
    Negotiations were formally launched on Oct. 18, but the talks got off to a rocky start after the guerrillas said they wanted to discuss a range of topics not mentioned on the agenda.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register