麻豆约拍

Algerian Siege: What really went on at the In Amenas gas field in Algeria?

In the early morning of January 16th the seven hundred staff at In Amenas gas field in the Sahara desert were getting ready for work. But at around 0530 a gang of armed jihadists stormed the accommodation complex and held many of the staff hostage in a siege that lasted four days.

This programme examines how this security breach could have happened and hears of security concerns from those working at the facility. We speak with men who were taken hostage who describe their ordeal and eventual escapes.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb are the terrorist group who have claimed responsibility for the kidnappings but who makes up this group and how do they operate in the wider Sahara region? A Canadian diplomat who was kidnapped in 2008 by the same terrorists gives us his original insight into the group's motivations.

Reporter: Simon Cox
Producer: Charlotte Pritchard.