PARIS -- France's defense
minister said Sunday that al-
Qaida linked militants were
most likely behind the
kidnapping of two French
nationals in the west African
nation of Niger, who were
found dead following a rescue
attempt that involved French
and Niger troops.
Alain Juppe also defended the
decision to launch the rescue
mission, saying that doing
nothing would have signaled
to the kidnappers "that in the
end France doesn't fight
terrorism."
He said there was no
conclusive proof that the two
25-year-old friends were killed
by their captors, but
"everything leads us to
believe ... that they were
executed," by their
kidnappers.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has
blamed kidnappers for the
deaths of Antoine de Leocour
and Vincent Delory. De
Leocour was to marry a local
woman in a week, and Delory
was going to be his best man.
The two were abducted by
four armed men in a
restaurant in Niamey, the
Niger capital, on Friday night.
Their bodies were found
Saturday at the Niger-Mali
border after a skirmish
involving French forces in
which some of the kidnap
gang were killed, officials
said.
Juppe refused to say what
effect the deaths would have
on France's efforts to secure
the release of five other
French nationals, kidnapped in
September in Niger and
believed to be held in
neighboring Mali. Al-Qaida in
the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM,
has claimed responsibility for
that kidnapping.
Questions are being asked
whether the French
intervention sealed the young
men's fate, and whether
France should play an active
role in hunting down terrorists
in the vast desert region
known as Sahel that spans
portions of Mauritania, Mali,
Niger and Algeria. The four
countries have set up a joint
operation to go after militants
with links to al-Qaida.
A number of French troops
are also deployed in the Sahel
region and the United States
has provided training for the
local troops in the area.
Sarkozy reaffirmed on Sunday
France's determination to
keep up the fight against
terrorism.
"We will never accept the
diktat of terrorists," Sarkozy
said during a during a visit to
Guadeloupe, a French
Caribbean region.
There was no claim of
responsibility for the latest
kidnappings.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/09/AR2011010903047.html
minister said Sunday that al-
Qaida linked militants were
most likely behind the
kidnapping of two French
nationals in the west African
nation of Niger, who were
found dead following a rescue
attempt that involved French
and Niger troops.
Alain Juppe also defended the
decision to launch the rescue
mission, saying that doing
nothing would have signaled
to the kidnappers "that in the
end France doesn't fight
terrorism."
He said there was no
conclusive proof that the two
25-year-old friends were killed
by their captors, but
"everything leads us to
believe ... that they were
executed," by their
kidnappers.
President Nicolas Sarkozy has
blamed kidnappers for the
deaths of Antoine de Leocour
and Vincent Delory. De
Leocour was to marry a local
woman in a week, and Delory
was going to be his best man.
The two were abducted by
four armed men in a
restaurant in Niamey, the
Niger capital, on Friday night.
Their bodies were found
Saturday at the Niger-Mali
border after a skirmish
involving French forces in
which some of the kidnap
gang were killed, officials
said.
Juppe refused to say what
effect the deaths would have
on France's efforts to secure
the release of five other
French nationals, kidnapped in
September in Niger and
believed to be held in
neighboring Mali. Al-Qaida in
the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM,
has claimed responsibility for
that kidnapping.
Questions are being asked
whether the French
intervention sealed the young
men's fate, and whether
France should play an active
role in hunting down terrorists
in the vast desert region
known as Sahel that spans
portions of Mauritania, Mali,
Niger and Algeria. The four
countries have set up a joint
operation to go after militants
with links to al-Qaida.
A number of French troops
are also deployed in the Sahel
region and the United States
has provided training for the
local troops in the area.
Sarkozy reaffirmed on Sunday
France's determination to
keep up the fight against
terrorism.
"We will never accept the
diktat of terrorists," Sarkozy
said during a during a visit to
Guadeloupe, a French
Caribbean region.
There was no claim of
responsibility for the latest
kidnappings.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/09/AR2011010903047.html
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