ALGIERS, Feb 23, 2010 (AFP) - Algeria recalled its ambassador to Bamako on Tuesday in protest at Mali's release of four militants, whose release has been demanded by an Al-Qaeda group threatening to kill a French hostage.
    "The Algerian government has decided to recall its ambassador to Bamako for consultations," a foreign ministry spokesman said, blaming Mali for freeing the four "under the fallacious pretext they had been tried and served their time."
    Mauritania also recalled its ambassador in protest on Monday.
    The recall came after Bamako released the four men -- two from Algeria, one from Burkina Faso and one from Mauritania -- despite the fact Algiers and Nouakchott wanted to try their nationals on terrorist related charges.
    The Algerian government "strongly condemns and denounces this unfriendly attitude of the Malian government," the spokesman said.
    Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) had demanded the release of the four in exchange for French hostage Pierre Camatte, extending a previous deadline to February 20 and threatening to kill him if their demands were not met.
    As well as Camatte, who is thought to be hidden in the northern Malian desert, AQIM is also holding three Spanish hostages and an Italian couple, kidnapped in neighbouring Mauritania within days of each other last November.
    The release of the prisoners prompted anger in Nouakchott, where the foreign ministry said the move was "surprising", given that one of those released is wanted in Mauritania.
    "This non-cordial measure taken by the Malian authorities harms age-old relations between the two countries," Mauritania's foreign ministry said in a statement announcing the recall for consultations of its ambassador to Bamako.
    Algeria accused Mali of failing to respect a bilateral judicial convention and said through its government spokesman that the "Malian government is violating relevant and binding resolutions of the UN Security Council, and bilateral, regional and international engagements in the fight against terrorism."
    The Malian government's decision to free "terrorists wanted in neighbouring countries is a dangerous development for the security and stability of the Sahel-Saharan region and serves, objectively, the interests of the terrorist group active in the region under the banner of Al-Qaeda," the Algerian foreign ministry said.
    Mali had long insisted it would not give in to AQIM's demands, but last Thursday a court gave the four prisoners sentences which corresponded with the amount of time they had already spent in custody, paving the way for their release.