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Austria rules out negotiations for kidnapped pair

Austria called on Friday for the immediate release of two nationals seized in Tunisia by an al-Qaeda-linked group, and refused to negotiate after an ultimatum given by the kidnappers.

Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer asked other EU leaders for the help of their secret services in freeing the captives, who were abducted last month and are now reportedly in Mali.

"We ask for the immediate and unconditional freeing of these hostages," he told reporters, arriving for talks with his EU counterparts in Brussels.

"For us, the lives and the health of the two is of the utmost importance," he said, but added: "Austria is not negotiating with terrorists."

"We do not intend to meet the demands. This is an act of violence against people and an act of violence against Austria," he said.

The al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb -- an Algerian-based off-shoot of al-Qaeda -- has said it abducted the pair in Tunisia on Feb. 22 and has warned Western tourists to stay away.

On Thursday, the Austrian Foreign Ministry confirmed that it had received an ultimatum from the group demanding the release of prisoners in Tunisia and Algeria in exchange for the two. The ultimatum runs out midnight tonight with the group saying that Austria would responsible for the hostages' lives if the demands are not met.

Austrian media have identified the two as Wolfgang Ebner, 51, and Andrea Kloiber, 44. Ebner, a veteran desert expert, phoned his son from Tunisia on Feb. 18 and was to call again on Feb. 25, but never did.
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