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A senior Japanese official today met the Algerian prime minister to press for an explanation of last week’s gas plant siege as Tokyo confirmed the deaths of two more nationals, taking the number of Japanese nationals killed in the attack to nine.
Senior Vice-Foreign Minister Shunichi Suzuki arrived aboard a government jet that is to repatriate the bodies of those known to have been killed in the hostage crisis, along with the seven Japanese who survived.
Later in the day, Tokyo announced that it knew for sure that nine Japanese were killed after Islamist gunmen overran the desert facility. One Japanese citizen remains unaccounted for.
“Unfortunately, we have been able to confirm two more deaths,” said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga.
“The Japanese government expresses sincere condolences to the families and people concerned. The use of violence cannot be tolerated for any reason. We firmly condemn acts of terror,” he said, adding that the government would do its utmost to confirm the fate of the final missing person.
Seventeen Japanese were at the facility in In Amenas when jihadists struck last Wednesday at the start of a four-day siege that left dozens of foreigners dead. Seven of them made it to safety.
Suzuki carried a letter to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Suga told reporters in Tokyo earlier.
Apart from Prime Minister Abdelmalek Saleki, Suzuki met Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, Japan’s Kyodo News reported, citing Tokyo’s foreign ministry.
Japan has asked Algeria to fully investigate events at the gas plant and explain how exactly had the individuals died, Suga said in Tokyo.
“Algeria has promised to cooperate as much as possible,” he said.
Algeria has said 37 foreigners of eight different nationalities and an Algerian were killed in the siege, which ended on Saturday.
Today’s visit came as it emerged that Britain, Japan, the United States and other countries whose nationals were caught up in the events at the In Amenas plant had issued a joint demarche to Algeria last Friday.
A demarche is a formal diplomatic move in which a country’s stance is conveyed in person — rather than by note — to another government.
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