French foreign minister in Mali as hostage deadline nears

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner arrived unexpectedly in Mali yesterday, a week ahead of a deadline set by an Al-Qaeda-linked group threatening the life of a French hostage, government and airport sources said.

Kouchner left in the evening but did not address the media. A Malian source told AFP that the minister had sought Bamako's help in securing their release.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which is holding six Europeans in the northern Mali desert, has said it will execute Frenchman Pierre Camatte if Mali does not free AQIM prisoners by February 20.

Despite pressure from Paris, Mali has ruled out releasing the prisoners, numbering at least four, but Malian negotiators met the kidnappers last Friday.

"I cannot say more, I hope we will have good news," one of the two principal negotiators told AFP by satellite phone.

AQIM is holding Camatte, who was kidnapped in Mali on November 26, three Spaniards captured in Mauritania on November 29 and an Italian couple abducted in Mauritania on December 17.

The branch of Al-Qaeda is demanding the release of its members imprisoned in Mali in exchange for Camatte's freedom, and have threatened to kill him if their demands are not met, according to a statement released on a Jihadist website last week.