February 22, 2010 - How do you negotiate with kidnappers? You don't, because feeding the lion only makes it hungrier. Unless you're France. Al Qaeda's North African wing released French hostage Pierre Camatte, Mali's government said on Tuesday, in an apparent prisoner swap that has angered neighbours Algeria and Mauritania. After years waging a campaign of suicide bombings and ambushes in Algeria, the group shifted a large part of its activities south to the Sahara desert -- using the politically volatile and sparsely populated area as a safe haven. Last year AQIM killed a British hostage, and analysts say it is as interested in securing multi-million dollar ransoms as it is in its political goals. The United States and European nations are trying to improve the capacity of the Saharan states to combat the threat but disputes among regional governments have hampered efforts to mount a coordinated response. Algeria, which has been fighting Islamist insurgents for years, is fiercely opposed to any deals being struck with AQIM to secure the release of foreign hostages, saying they strengthen the rebels. Click below for story.
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