Africa leaders want payment of ransoms made illegal

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - African leaders condemned the payment of kidnap ransoms to free hostages and said the practice should be made illegal because the cash is being used by militants to fund violence. The 53-member African Union adopted a resolution against ransom payments at a summit in Sirte, in Libya. Some countries worry ransoms paid to hostage-takers in Somalia and the northern Sahara could fall into the hands of al Qaeda and its allies. "The (AU) vigorously condemns the payment of... [read full story]                    

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