By Tansa Musa plus Bate Felix
YAOUNDE/DAKAR Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:41pm EST
YAOUNDE/DAKAR (Reuters) - Islamist militants from neighboring Nigeria abducted a French friends and family regarding seven, including a number of children, throughout upper Cameroon on Tuesday, French President Francois Hollande said.
The risk involving blasts on French nationals and also passions within Africa offers gone up because France directed causes into Mali last month to aid oust Islamist rebels occupying the actual place's north.
"They (French family) have got already been taken simply by some sort of terrorist group in which all of us know that is certainly in Nigeria," Hollande advised reporters during a visit to Greece.
The men on motorcycles, armed with Kalashnikovs, intercepted the particular household into their car or truck at 0700 GMT along with compelled them that will generate towards nearby Nigerian border, a good guide towards the governor in the land explained to Reuters. The four-wheel-drive auto had been afterwards determined abandoned.
Islamist radicals inside upper Nigeria right now offer the best hazard in order to solidity around Africa's top rated oil-producing state.
Western governments come to mind in which Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists may possibly link in place having sets in another place from a district by using poorly secured borders, particularly al Qaeda's North African wing AQIM given the struggle within neighborhood Mali.
The seven French nationals had been abducted within Dabanga concerning eight km (six miles) with the Nigerian edge in close proximity to that Waza countrywide park, where they had spent the night inside the actual extreme north of Cameroon, one place where by Westerners generally go for holidays.
The father and mother on the family, that included two players and also a pair of girls as well as a different relative, been effective with regard to French electric firm GDF Suez.
GDF, which is building a liquefied propane project throughout south Cameroon, revealed a single involving it has the workforce along with his family have recently been kidnapped when with holiday.
Cameroon point out radio reported which witnesses said the actual three grown ups ended up divided in the four children and Cameroonian defense energies had been stationed in order to your area.
It ended up being the best event associated with as well as the being seized from the primarily Muslim north of Cameroon, a an old French colony.
"I see your hand connected with Boko Haram in that , component to Cameroon. France is within Mali, in addition to it can continue on until eventually its quest will be completed," Hollande said.
France intervened in Mali continue 30 days when Islamist rebels, immediately after hijacking a new rebellion through cultural Tuareg MNLA separatists to be able to seize handle from the north from the misunderstandings after a army coup, encouraged south towards cash Bamako.
Eight French people were currently being held throughout West Africa's Sahel district by way of al Qaeda-affiliated groups.
"It shows that this fight against terrorist categories can be a necessity as they threaten each one of Africa," French unusual minister Laurent Fabius told reporters.
"I think we have a terrorist threat in much of West Africa, where Cameroon," Fabius said.
France's currency ministry issued a traveling forewarning about Tuesday advising it's nationals definitely not going to be able to your extreme north region regarding Cameroon along with individuals already presently there ought to consider precautionary methods and keep whenever possible.
TRACES OF BOKO HARAM
Cameroon is a mainly secular state exactly where 70 percent from the inhabitants are Christian and regarding 24 p'cent small Muslim. Most Cameroon Muslims have your three northern regions on the country. Until now, firms zero identified links between Muslims within north Cameroon and also Islamists within upper Nigeria.
Most kidnappings of Western nationals inside the place were dedicated by way of pirates operating away Cameroon's the southern area of Bakassi peninsula as well as the Gulf connected with Guinea, though the French unusual ministry says against just about all travel inside north.
Charles Gurdon, handling overseer connected with Menas Associates, some sort of London-based risk evaluation consultancy, reported there were being expanding concerns more than a possible spillover through Nigeria on the north involving Cameroon.
"Traces of . Boko Haram had been identified (in Cameroon), even so the Cameroon govt features recently been secretly making an attempt to be able to weaken this threat," he or she said.
On Sunday, seven foreigners were being grabbed on the ingredient connected with Lebanese structure firm Setraco around northern Nigeria 's Bauchi state, plus al Qaeda-linked Ansaru required responsibility.
Northern Nigeria will be increasingly afflicted by episodes and also kidnappings by means of Islamist militants. Ansaru, which in turn went up by to dominance simply in current months, has additionally advertised the abduction within December of the French nation's who will be even now missing.
Ansaru said the abductions were pushed through "the atrocities executed into the religion of Allah from the European nations in a great many places, including Afghanistan and Mali."
Ansaru is believed to have reduce ties that will Boko Haram, which includes mortally wounded 100s throughout a three-year-long insurgency focused generally for the security forces, non secular spots and politicians, in lieu of foreigners.
(Additional confirming by means of John Irish plus Diadie Ba within Dakar, Jean-Baptiste Vey within Athens, Vicky Buffery, Alexandria Sage, Marion Douet plus Muriel Boselli throughout Paris; Writing by way of John Irish and Bate Felix; Editing by Michael Roddy)
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