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French Official Travels to Niger After Killing of French Nationals

   VOA News 10 January 2011

   The  French  defense  minister  travels  to  Niger  Monday to met with
   officials   there,   following  the  death  of  two  kidnapped  French
   nationals.  Â
   Alain  Juppe's  visit  comes  two  days after the French hostages were
   found dead near Niger's border with Mali.
   Officials  say  the  men's  bodies  were  discovered Saturday, after a
   rescue attempt by Niger's military and French special forces.
   Authorities  say  French  anti-terror  police  have been dispatched to
   Niger  to  participate  in  the  investigation of the death of the two
   friends.
   One  of the French nationals worked in Africa and was marrying a Niger
   woman.   The  other  man  had  come  to  Niger to attend his friend's
   wedding.
   Witnesses  say  gunmen  abducted  the  men Friday from a restaurant in
   Niger's capital, Niamey.
   No one has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, but officials in
   France  and  Niger  say  they suspect al-Qaida's north African branch,
   al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.
   French  President  Nicolas Sarkozy has condemned the killings and says
   France will never accept decrees from terrorists.
   On Sunday, France warned its citizens against travel to Africa's Sahel
   region, which includes Niger. Â
   France  is  currently  trying  to  secure  the  release of five French
   hostages  seized  in  Niger  in September, along with a Togolese and a
   Madagascan.

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