OSLO, Jan 23, 2013 (AFP)
Norway, which has five nationals still unaccounted for after last week’s hostage crisis at an Algerian gas field, on Wednesday placed the blame for the deadly outcome on “terrorists” and not Algiers.
“We have been careful not to draw any conclusions regarding the Algerian authorities’ handling of the situation. We wanted to first get a better overview of the catastrophe and the options at the authorities’ disposal,” Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg told parliament.
“Handling a hostage crisis with more than 30 hostage-takers and a large number of hostages is an extremely difficult task in any country. Especially since the attack took place in one of the most deserted places in the world,” he added.
Oslo has received no news about five employees of Norwegian oil group Statoil, which jointly operates the gas field with BP and state-run Algerian energy firm Sonatrach.
Islamist commandos attacked the In Amenas gas complex on Wednesday.
As hope of finding survivors has faded, the Scandinavian country has sent a forensics team to try to find the Norwegians among the unidentified bodies.
According to Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal, the latest death toll stands at 37 foreign hostages and one Algerian hostage, while 29 attackers have been killed and three were found alive by special forces.
Five foreigners remain missing, and seven bodies remained unidentified on Monday.
“What is very clear is that the responsibility for this human suffering lies squarely and exclusively with the terrorists,” Stoltenberg said.
He said he and British Prime Minister David Cameron had agreed to meet to discuss the hostage-taking, which also likely claimed the lives of six Britons, and “broader efforts to combat international terrorism”.
