Tibhirine’s monks were abducted by the Islamic Armed Group (GIA)

The terrorist group who kidnapped the seven monks of “Tibhirine” sent a tape to the French authorities as a proof that the victims were effectively abducted, to use them as a money exchange against a number of terrorists arrested by the French security forces. The terrorist vowed to kill the monks if their comrades were not set free.

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• The tape opens with the message made by the so called “Yaakoub” who was in charge of Islamic Armed Group (GIA) Protocol addressing the French who will receive it saying “obeying to the order issued by the leader of the GIA Abu Abderrehmane Amine (Djamel Zitouni) we are recording this message today”
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• The tape was recorded in April 20, 1996 about 23 days to the abduction of the monks. To give more evidence to the French authorities, the terrorists recorded the Moroccan channel’s news bulletin (Medi 1) which lasted 15 minutes on the tape.
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• One of the terrorists then turned to the first monk known as Christian telling him in a colloquial language “ Eh Christian… talk talk”. The monk started by introducing himself and mentioned the name of his parents as well as his age (59) and that he was a monk in Tibhirine monastery.
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• The monk went on saying further details that the message was recorded in April 20 addressing the French authorities in his mother tongue “ We have just followed a news bulletin broadcasted at 11 pm local time by “MEDI 1” giving the content of this bulletin in full details.
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• The monk talked about the peace negotiations that took place in Damascus, Syria, that brought together the US, French and Italian foreign ministers as well as a terrorist operation carried out by the Egyptian terrorist group that wound up with killing of 18 Greek tourists. The message comprised official apologies from the terrorist organization to the Greek authorities because they were targeting Israelis ho were dwelling at the same hotel.
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• The monk Christian went on talking about local news mentioning the meeting that took place between the Algerian president at that time Lyamine Zeroual and the leader of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) Said Saadi on the occasion of the celebration of the 16 anniversary of the “Berber Spring”.
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• The monk Christian then added “ After listening to the news bulletin, we inform you that we are taken hostages by the militants of the Islamic Armed Group”, he afterwards mentioned the name of Abderrehmane Amine, the leader of the terrorist organization at that period.
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• One after the other, the monks addressed the French authorities giving their names and those of their parents, “ I am the brother Christophe Le Bretton and I’m a monk at Tibhirine monastery”
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• Then came the turn of Luc Dechier a, monk since 1941 declaring that he was a monk at Tibhirine “ I have listened to the news bulletin broadcasted by MEDI1 I’m a hostage along with my brothers abducted by the Islamic Armed Group”.
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• Bruno Le Marchant (66), Paul Vavre , Michel and Celestian Ranger (63) all of them addressed the French authorities using the same sentence that they were monks at Tibhirine monastery and were in good health condition.
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