Azawad Rebels in a Mission to Liberate the 7 Algerian Diplomats, Official

The Azawad rebels have launched a wide search operation to find the place where the seven abducted Algerian diplomats are, a spokesman for the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (NMLA) said.Mr Bekay Agh Hmed Ahmed told Farida Lakehel of Echorouk, in a phone call, that the rebel movement is using its own means to collect information about all the hostages, including Westerners and the Algerian diplomats.Mr Agh Hmed Ahmed denied the existence of any contacts with Algerian authorities for an eventual cooperation in the crisis of the abducted diplomats, saying “until Monday, there has been no official contact between the NMLA and Algeria,” yet he has not excluded the fact that “the two parties to set cooperation in the future, mostly in the security issue.” The Tuareg rebel official said the search operation to liberate all the hostages detained on the northern Mali, is seen as “a duty” because abductions occurred on the recently proclaimed independent state of Azawad.NMLA spokesman further denied reports that the Algerian diplomats have been released, saying “the rebel movement has launched no talks with the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJOA), who claimed the abduction of the seven diplomats.”