"He will return to Indonesia immediately."
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - An Indonesian man, AA, who was held hostage by an armed group, has now been released.

He was held hostage by an armed group that had attacked a gas refinery in Inamenas-Tigaritourine-Ilizi, Algeria.

"AA, an Indonesian citizen who works at a British Petroleum (BP) gas refinery, was held hostage by an armed group before he was released. Now, he is on his way to London. He will return to Indonesia immediately," said the Director of Information and Media at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PLE Priatna, on Friday.

He said the head of the Political Department at the Indonesian Embassy in Algeria worked closely with the Algerian government and BP in Algeria to ensure AA's safety.

The armed group had attacked a refinery managed by Algeria Sonatrach, BP and Norwegian Statoil on January 16. About 20 to 25 armed people had attacked the refinery and they had opened fire at a number of security guards too.

As a result, two Englishmen died and seven Algerians were injured. 41 foreign and 200 local employees were held hostage.

According to the RI Embassy in Algeria, the Algerian government is working closely with the military to free the remaining hostages.
(T.A060/INE/KR-BSR/O001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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