The kidnappers of two Frenchmen killed in Niger were probably members of al-Qaeda's North African wing, the French military said today.
The two men were found dead, apparently killed by their kidnappers, after French special forces took part in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue them.
"It is likely ... I think we can say that," French Armed Forces spokesman Thierry Burkhard said when asked on French television station i-Tele whether the kidnappers belonged to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
France said the entire Sahel region could no longer be considered safe for its citizens after the murders. .
"French nationals should be extremely vigilant and careful at all times," the foreign ministry said in a statement."In view of the terrorism threat on the region, no area can be considered safe any longer."
The Sahel, which spans from Africa's Atlantic coast in the west and the Red Sea in the east, is usually considered to include Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Chad and Northern Nigeria.
The two victims were abducted from a bar in the Niger capital Niamey yesterday, bringing to eight the number of French nationals snatched in the country since last April. They were the first to be seized in Niamey, far from the lawless desert where Islamist militants, rebels and bandits flourish.
Speaking on BFM TV, Axel Poniatowski, who is president of parliament's foreign affairs commission, said French nationals could no longer deem the region as a tourism destination like Morocco or Tunisia and should no longer travel there. "We have the ban on the veil, a secular society and a big presence of firms in the region, so all these reasons mean French hostages are of choice (to be targeted)."
Last July another French hostage, Michel Germaneau (78), was killed by AQIM after a failed French rescue mission in Mali following his abduction in Niger.
AQIM, which operates across West and North Africa's vast Sahara desert, is holding another five French citizens, some of whom work for mining giant Areva. They were among a group of seven foreigners kidnapped from the northern mining town of Arlit in September last year.