In an apparent retaliation against the French for their operation against Islamists in Mali, a family of French nationals, including four children, was kidnapped at a nature reserve in Cameroon.
“They have been taken by a terrorist group that we know and that is in Nigeria,” French President Francois Hollande told reporters during a visit to Greece.
When France launched its operation in Mali against Islamist rebels, the groups warned that they would retaliate against France by striking French nationals around the world. It appears that an informal network of Islamist rebels in West Africa is helping the group in Mali follow through on the threat.
On Sunday, seven foreigners were snatched from the compound of Lebanese construction company Setraco in northern Nigeria when the militants blasted their way into a housing compound for the workers. Among those kidnapped were a Briton, a Greek, an Italian, three Lebanese and a Filipino, according to the Associated Press. Ansaru, a group that has been wreaking havoc in Nigeria along with Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility.
The kidnapped family, which lived in Yaoundé, were captured Tuesday at about 7 a.m. in a village six miles from the Nigerian border, near the Waza national park and Lake Chad, popular holiday destinations for Westerners. According to reports, they were taken by gunmen on motorbikes as they traveled to the park. The group consisted of two boys and two girls — aged 4, 7, 9 and 11 — traveling with their parents and an uncle.
It was the first case of foreigners being seized in the north of Cameroon, a former French colony.
A local Cameroon official confirmed to Reuters that French special forces arrived in northern Cameroon to help locate the family, which was moved to Nigeria.
The French military came from their regional base in Chad, 40 miles away.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday:
“We believe it’s the Boko Haram group that carried out the kidnapping, but we don’t know for sure. Unfortunately, terror breeds terror,” Le Drian told France 2 television.
French TV reported that two Yaounde-based agents from the French DGSE foreign intelligence agency were dispatched to the kidnap zone to work with Cameroon’s secret service, while a French army helicopter was sent to help in the search.
