Hostage crisis shows Mali intervention justified-Hollande

PARIS Jan 17 (Reuters) - The hostage crisis in Algeria shows that French intervention in Mali is justified, President Francois Hollande said on Thursday.

Hollande said that events seemed to have taken a "dramatic" turn at the remote desert gas plant but he did not yet have enough information to allow a proper assessment of the situation.

However, he added: "What's happening in Algeria provides further evidence that my decision to intervene in Mali was justified." Hollande made the remarks at the start of a speech to business leaders.