Up To Date france

A French national held hostage for three months has been freed by Al Qaida in North Africa.

Pierre Camatte was seized in Menaka in eastern Mali on November 26 by members of the north African chapter of the terror organisation, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

The Frenchman had lived in the country since 2008 running a hotel as well as operating an organisation aimed at reducing malaria infection

But last night officials confirmed that Camatte had been released and was bound for Bamako, from where he was expected to return to France.

No details of his release were given, but commentators believe it comes as a result of a court decision to free four people jailed on suspicion of al Qaida involvement on Tuesday.

The group, consisting of two Algerians, a Mauritanian and a Burkina Fasoan, were found guilty of the charges levelled against them, but sentenced to terms that amounted to less that time served, instigating their immediate release.

The controversial decision to allow the terror suspect to go free came after the organisation posted a message on its website agreeing to hand Camatte over in return for the prisoners.

The cooperation with the terrorists demands has been roundly criticised and North African counterparts reacted by recalling their ambassador to Mali, accusing the region of sending a dangerous message to terrorist with its complicity.

The Algerian foreign ministry said they: “Forcefully condemned and denounced the decision.”

France might increase the number of their deployed troops in Afghanistan in support of their cause to fight against the Talibans and the al-Qaida associates according to a statement given by the Prime Minister.

Francois Fillon said that NATO and its member states should do everything to stop Afghanistan from moulding and harbouring terrorists. According to him, Afghanistan is rapidly becoming the nucleus of global terrorism. Fillon made this statement amidst local opposition by the French.

The planned number of troops to be sent to Afghanistan was estimated by the French official to be about a hundred. The transparency of the total number of deployment in a foreign land was benchmarked by Fillon upon his issuance of the said statement. He defended the increase of troops by saying that Afghanistan does play a huge part in global security and the people’s freedoms. The Prime Minister did not mention anything about the nature or type of additional forces France would be sending; however, he mentioned that the current French forces deployed in Afghanistan can collaborate with the army in Afghanistan regarding command operations, reconstruction and security efforts.

France’s President said that France would amplify their forces beyond the current 2,200 count, but no figure of any sort came from him about the estimation of the additional troops. Fillon said that Sarkozy has not made any final decisions yet on the increase of troops. Sarkozy already sent a letter to their fellow NATO member states, stating the French condition of wanting to have a bigger role in the issue.