TLEMCEN, Algeria, Dec 20, 2012 (AFP) -
TLEMCEN, Algeria, Dec 20, 2012 (AFP) –
French President Francois Hollande confirmed on Thursday that a French national had been kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria and said Paris was doing everything it could to secure his release.
“I confirm that that one of our compatriots has been kidnapped in northern Nigeria,” he told a news conference at the end of a two-day visit to Algeria, adding that France was using “all its means” to rescue him.
“We are pursuing all the leads that will allow us to get him back,” he said, adding that two Nigerians were killed during the attack late on Wednesday in the state of Katsina.
Hollande is travelling with Jean-Yves Le Drian and Laurent Fabius, his defence and foreign minister, and said they were keeping him informed of the situation “minute by minute.”
Nigerian police said that a group of 30 gunmen stormed a residence where expatriate workers were staying, kidnapping a French engineer and killing a security guard and a neighbour.
