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9 Japanese killed in Algeria hostage crisis, gov't says

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12 bodies from Algeria attack said to be Japanese

The curious thing about this tragedy is the complete lack of concrete information. Shortly after the Algerian forces stormed the compound the operation was declared "finished" and yet two days later we still have reports that say "are said to be" or similar. Its more like a chat in the pub than real journalism. And if it is bad for a simple reader like myself, what must the families and friends be going through?

16 ( +16 / -0 )

Just as I predicted.

Good for you. Now help the world out and confirm it.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

No, they weren't "executed". They were murdered.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Tiger_In_The_Hermitage

i think Abe needs to chuck a fit at the Alerians... who gave them the right to storm the plan and kill hostage of other nationalities.

I think some people need to learn that the world doesn't revolve around Japan...... Imagine if terrorists seized a bus load of Chinese or Korean tourists in Japan. Would Japan let the Chinese or Korean military in to rescue them? Nope

Fact is it happened in Algeria, the Algerians did their best they rescued many hostages. Some died, that is truly sad. But the dead extend more than just Japan and the likes of you need to understand that. The world does not revolve around Japan dispute what you think. And sadly this is just another example of Japanese trying to throw their weight around to get their own way in other countries. If you don't like how it was handled easy, don't go there, or give the Algerians loads of money and training to ensure if this does happen again they are trained to their best ability.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Animals.

@ Mike Critchley.

No, animals behave much better than terrorists, much better than humans in general for that matter.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Tiger, it is their country, it's their call. How do you know it was the Algerians that killed the hostages?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

It is crazy to send more Japanese there unprotected. I wager something will happen to them.

I'll take that bet. I saw them with security.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Tiger, I think there is a bit of misunderstanding there. It seems that most of the hostages killed were killed by the terrorists, i.e. the latest updates from survivors state that the 9 Japanese were executed Wednesday by the terrorists. Terrorists were there to execute every non-mulsims, nothing else, and they started well before Algerian forces stormed in. Algeria did good by stopping that before terrorists could kill everyone...

3 ( +3 / -0 )

"the Algerians loads of money and training to ensure if this does happen again they are trained to their best ability."

Algeria has experienced more than a decade of horrible terrorism where man, women, children, babies were murdered with an unimaginable cruelty. Hundred of thousands of Algerian citizens died during these events. So believe me, Algeria does not need money or training to deal with terrorists, it has plenty of experience with that.

Now, the fact that Japanese politicians are shamelessly criticizing the action of Algerians is just scandalous. They are so selfish. They absolutely lack the knowledge to do that. Those politicians hardly know anything about what is going on in the world, and their agitation in front of the media is pathetic. They forgot that the first victim here is Algeria and Algerians and the country had to deal with a difficult situation that no other country would have done better. Algeria does not negotiate with terrorists (just like US and Great Britain by the way) and it had to act fast for several reasons 1) The terrorists wanted to destroy or badly damage the site. The government has to move fast before they had enough time to put explosives everywhere and to trigger them (they did actually start to put mines). This is a gas production facility, imagine the disaster if they would have been able to blow up their explosives. 2) The terrorists already started to escape with hostages. This is what triggered the army helicopters to fire on them. No other choice here because if they could have got away, the hostages would be dead anyway. 3) The terrorists already started the execute the hostages so waiting was not helping the hostages anyway.

And if one would put all the event in perspectives, it would become clear that the situation was very difficult to manage as the site is huge and the terrorists could spread there and become difficult to find, there were more than 700 people in the site when the attack started and it's really not easy to deal with potentially that big number of hostages and again the site is a highly sensitive place with gas production. I defy anyone to claim that a different country would have dealt with this mess better.

@Tiger_In_The_Hermitage

Shame on you! You can't possibly claim that Algeria killed those people, are you crazy or what? Terrorists and fanatics are responsible for this, not a country which found itself in a mess after France started its army operations in Mali. And on top of that, the last informations are confirming that the Japanese people were killed during the initial attack before the Algerian army decided to engage an assault. We really don't need such stupid posts like yours.

Japanese government should learn to respect other countries, this is not Japan which was attacked. it's to easy for japanese politicians to blame Algeria as they are thousands of km away, they understand nothing about what is happening, they have no idea who they are dealing with and thinking that negotiating some money (as the Japanese apparently wanted to do) would fix everything shows how the japanese politicians are miserable. Algeria has proposed to the terrorists to leave the site with no hostages with them but they refused and further negotiation is not possible with Algeria. Japan should understand that, they should understand that Algeria also has to protect its interests and negotiating even once would open the door of numerous terrorist attacks against the country. Instead of criticizing Algeria, Japan should show dignity and support and help the country which is victim of those terrorists. When it comes to business and making money there, Japan was always very diplomatic with Algeria and Algerians, but now when something tragic occurs, japanese turn their back on them. This is pathetic.

And we should also all think about the victims of this tragic event. The victims of terrorism.

3 ( +7 / -2 )

Extremely horrific for any person to go through such a hellish ordeal.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

lamentable if that's true!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

When large numbers of people are killed in gunfire, explosions and fire it must take time to collate what is left of the bodies with personal effects etc., and come up with a definitive list. The whole place was booby-trapped too. Four of the five jeeps packed with kidnappers and hostages for example were blown up by helicopters and presumably burnt out, remember. Large numbers of people escaped daily and many went straight home, and trying to find out who was there at the time, who wasn't, who is missing, and who was killed will be a massive task.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Chuichi: "That's a serious matter since it affects 12 people's lives!"

Perhaps the article was updated since you posted your comment, but it affects a LOT more than 12 people's lives!

Anyway, what a horror story, but thankfully the Japanese man who survived did indeed survive. At first I thought all of the hostages were killed by the botched 'rescue' job, but it seems pretty clear a good number of them, if not most, were executed. All told, while I agree you cannot give in to these scumbags, it sounds like an all around mess, to put it mildly. It doesn't sound like the Algerian special ops team did much to avoid hitting hostages.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Is there a media ban or something going on because no one seems to be able to get a clear picture if what exactly went down. Conflicting reports days later has made me suspicious that there is much more to this than the public is being told.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Don't mix up everything FPSRussia, Iraq has nothing to do with terrorism ...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Companies operating in that part of the world need to increase their security so this sort of thing doesn't happen again. Employees should be issued body armor and firearms. They should also be trained in the use of firearms. Vehicles should be armored. Don't rely on the Algerian army to rescue you. It's up to you to defend yourself and not become a hostage in the first place. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

daito_hak: most likely the army acted without prior consent of the president Butelfika. I mentioned it because if there should be someone to agree on an international strategy to cope withe this kind of situation, this is the president and not the generals.

And I confirm the borders are just artificial, without any link to local populations and tribes, regardless on when they had been made (end of 19th). The thing is that until quite recently, when there was apparently no resources in these lost areas, nobody cared. But today is a totally different story.

The real people living there - nomads - have never given any value to these borders, but have seen their liberties scrapped. Thus they are an easy source for rebellion or even terrorist helper candidates.

Bottom line is that the Sahel situation and this hostages crisis is much more complex than just a bunch of terrorists you can eradicate overnight.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Very sad but Algeria, the Middle East is no walk in the park! RIP

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Animals.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Elbuda, Algeria is not Middle East, its Africa! My thoughts are with the family of missing (or dead) but Abe must be stressed with this very much, Japanese people want an explaination which they dont have.

“A terrorist shouted ‘open the door!’ with a strong North American accent, and opened fire.

Thats very interesting, a terrorist with North American accent??? Something very fishy. Shale reserves of 17 trillion dollars have just been discovered and this scandal is running deep for sure!!!!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

horrific story, and for people not use to this type of hostile environment must have been horrified beyond words...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This should be seen as an outcome of post-colonialism and neo-liberal globalization rather than simply a terrorist incident.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@change

No, no and no!! Algeria is not Middle East, Algeria is located in north Africa in a region called maghreb facing France on the other side of the Mediterranean sea. And to be more precise, Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia are not part of Middle East in the traditional definition of the Middle East but are part to what is called the Greater Middle East, term used since the eighties. And in terms of culture and tradition, particularly Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia are very different to similarly arabic countries in Middle East.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Some readers really miss the actual situation in this part of the world. This is in the middle of nowhere with artificial borders mostly not recognized by local tribes and tuaregs. BUT there are important resources of gas and uranium, that are exploited by multinationals corrupting here and there, like adjacent countries. So there are quite significant frustrations and little war chefs everywhere. Add a bit of religion and Al-Quaeda and you get an explosive situation. Not to mention that the algerian army is acting more or less independently from its government.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@MADCOWS

Well go screw yourself.....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Not to mention that the algerian army is acting more or less independently from its government."

Not true, in Algeria unfortunately, the army is the government and the government is the army. This has been pretty much like this since the militaries have taken the control of the country after the islamists won the election in 1990 (the election was invalidated). This marked the beginning of a decade of terrorism in the country which also gave a lo of power to the army (=government) based on the idea that they were fighting terrorism.

And your claim about the artificial borders does not make any sense. The borders are all but artificial, defined even before all the countries in the region became fee of the colonialism.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The problem of the local population and tribes is something else, and in essence totally different to the Islamic terrorism problem. This is off topic and those are issues which have nothing to do to each other. Plus, the fact that local population and tribes have been there for ever does not make the borders artificial since the definition of these borders is well established regardless of the presence of local population. Really you are not making sense here.

Look, I have been to Algeria a ton of times. I know this country very well and probably more than you do. Butelfika has always been put there by the generals for the sake for creating an illusion of democracy in the country. Saying that the army acted without the consent of Mr Butelfika does not make any sense, because again the government is the army and in fact Butelfika is the army. They don't need any permission since Butelfika is totally aligned with what the army has decided to do.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

There are loose alliances between tuaregs and extremists islamic to fight against the metropolitan Algeria and its strategic/commercial/historical allies like France. This is definitely a fact. They have one common enemy but for totally different reasons: for territorial issues and for religion issues respectively.

This is not black or white, there are many grey zones.

Every people sent to this area should be clearly made aware of that. I would personally never ever work there.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Let see if Abe goes to Algeria for a visit now.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I think The man barricaded himself in his room and cowered with the lights off, as gunmen began their rampage through the compound.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Ounce of prevention, ton of cure? Let's have ton of prevention sure to overcome terrorists guerillas. Or nip them in the bud. Now before they grow stronger?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Allies combine flush them all out. Give men self-respecting jobs so they don't join terrorists?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The Algerian government did what they had to do. Those dead terrorists will never kill or hurt anyone again.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Waxman, Algeria is Middle East. So is Morocco and Egypt

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

RIP. This tragedy should remind us that terrorism must be fought with the strongest energy until its complete annihilation. 20 years of terrorism and failed diplomacy should taught us that there are no negotiations possible with terrorists. My thoughts go to the families of the victims.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Go France Go ! Go France Go !!!

News flash ....your special forces are "special".

Talk about a bungled attempt to demonstrate your capacity to handle a hostage situation......

Leave it to the Pro's the only news you'd read is all militants are deceased ....maybe MAYBE !! There would have been one hostage casualty and a few injuries ..

Pathetic.... other countries should sue your A$$ !

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

It is crazy to send more Japanese there unprotected. I wager something will happen to them.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

My prayers go out to those people who were killed in this horrific ordeal. Also, to those that survived it. They have to live with the pain and fear they felt.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

The bodies look like hamburger, similar to explosive injuries.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Never mind about the geographical location, it is teh same backward, animal Mentality - bloody animals,

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

I think Abe needs to chuck a fit at the Alerians... who gave them the right to storm the plan and kill hostage of other nationalities.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

That's a serious matter since it affects 12 people's lives!

-12 ( +6 / -18 )

Just as I predicted.

-14 ( +2 / -16 )

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