(Photograph by Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty)In Algeria, at least 22 foreign hostages remained unaccounted for in what has been described as one of the biggest international hostage crises in decades. Islamist militants opposed to the French air strikes in neighboring Mali seized a gas facility near the Libyan border. It remains unclear how many people died on Thursday when Algerian forces stormed the desert gas complex to free the workers. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has acknowledged it is now directly aiding France’s military operation in Mali.

In the interview below, Democracy Now! speaks with Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, for insight and perspective: