Kidnapped Austrian tourist's family can not pay ransom

The son of an Austrian kidnapped tourist said his family can not afford to pay ransom instead of the government.

“After we knew the kidnappers’ demands, we contacted interior and foreign affairs ministries and we have been told that it is difficult and it is impossible to meet the demands,” Bernhard, Wolfgang Ebner’s son told Echorouk.

  Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb which claimed responsibility for the abduction of Wolfgang Ebner and Andrea Kloiber said it would release them if all of its members were freed from prisons in Tunisia and Algeria.On the other hand, Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer called for the unconditional release of two Austrian tourists who were kidnapped on February 22nd in southern Tunisia.

Bernhard said difficulties which the Austrian government is talking about will not stop the family from continuing efforts to reach a peaceful solution for the sufferance of the tourists and their families

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 He critisied the way in which Algeria and Tunisia’s embassies to Austria were dealing with the event.

“My family did not receive any call from the embassies,” he said.

He added that a support comission had been set up including Muslims and non Muslims who show solidarity for the family

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  Algerian authorities deal with the issue

Algerian interior ministry is closely following up the issue of the Austrian tourists especially after Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said it would free the hostages if its members were released from prisons in Algeria and Tunisia.

 According to a source at Algerian foreign affairs ministry, an emergency meeting was organised at the ministry to discuss the issue.

“The issue primarily concerns security forces with direct supervision of the interior minister,” said the same source.“The intervention of Algerian diplomacy is excluded at present and the matter is being treated by the concerned countries’ interior ministries.”  

Tunisian press still says Austrian tourists were kidnapped in Algeria 

Tunisian press confirmed that the two Austrian tourists had been kidnapped out of Tunisia.

Echorouk, a Tunisian newspaper said Austria hailed Tunisia’s efforts since it knew about the abduction of the two Austrian tourists who entered Tunisia in the beginning of February.

Tunisian security forces and army carried out a large-scale combing operation in all the Sahara using helicopters and camels but the tourists were not found, said the same newspaper.

It concluded that the tourists had been lost in the Sahara and left Tunisia by error where they were kidnapped.

 Tunisian newspapers referred to French newspaper “France Soir” and the German one “TZ” which said the tourists might likely be kidnapped out of Tunisia.Desert tourism experts were quoted saying that the tourists might not be lost in the Tunisian desert and entered Algeria by error.Vision in borders region between the Algerian and Tunisian desert is clear and there are many routes in this region, reported the Tunisian press citing the tourism experts.