Stephen McFaul, Irishman held in Algeria kidnapping, had explosives tied to his neck

McFaul escapes a “volatile” situation in Algeria

By

KERRY O'SHEA,

IrishCentral Staff Writer

Larger Text

Print

E-mail

1 Comment

Belfast man Stephen McFaul photographed with his sons, is now out of harm's way after Algeria oil-field hostage situation

Photo by PA

Tweet

The UK’s Prime Minister David Cameron has been in contact with French President Francois Hollande and US President Barack Obama about the still developing situation, as each nation has hostages at the Algerian oil field.

The hostage situation began in the early hours of Wednesday morning at In Amenas, at a joint-venture operated oil-field, owned in part by oil company BP. McFaul was one of a number of foreign workers at the site, and had been travelling on an Irish passport.

The Journal reports that former AQIM leader Mokhtar Belmokhtar has claimed responsibility for the attack. The militants said they seized the hostages, who were known to include US, French, British, Irish, Norwegian and Japanese citizens, in retaliation for the French military intervention in northern Mali.

In response, Algerian militants surrounded the area on Thursday to combat the kidnappers. The situation is still ongoing, and many public officials are reluctant to speak either due to lack of information or the “volatile” nature of the incident.

Print

E-mail

Tweet