Hello everybody,
The following is an excerpt from the article, titled "Foreigners held hostage by militants in Algeria" appeared in the online-BBC news, Jan.16 2013.
"We are holding the Algerian and French governments, and the hostages' countries, entirely responsible for their slowness in satisfying our demands, foremost of which is an immediate halt to the aggression against our brothers in Mali," added the spokesman.
What does "hold" mean in the context? Does it mean "keeping"? I've looked up a dictionary, but none of definitions seems appropriate. Could anyone help this?
Thank you in advance,
Azuki
The following is an excerpt from the article, titled "Foreigners held hostage by militants in Algeria" appeared in the online-BBC news, Jan.16 2013.
"We are holding the Algerian and French governments, and the hostages' countries, entirely responsible for their slowness in satisfying our demands, foremost of which is an immediate halt to the aggression against our brothers in Mali," added the spokesman.
What does "hold" mean in the context? Does it mean "keeping"? I've looked up a dictionary, but none of definitions seems appropriate. Could anyone help this?
Thank you in advance,
Azuki