Algerian hostage crisis: Part II – did international humanitarian law apply? Some thoughts on the ‘protractedness’ requirement
Last Sunday, French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the taking of hostages at the Algerian gas plant two weeks ago as an “act of war”. He elaborated: “What strikes me the most is that we’re saying ‘hostage-taking’ but when there are so many people concerned, I think this is an act of war.” The …