French President Francois Hollande confirmed on Tuesday that seven French nationals have been kidnapped in northern Cameroon near the border with Nigeria.
Hollande said during a visit to Greece that the group, members of the same family who were apparently tourists, had been seized by a Nigerian-based “terrorist group.”
Radio France International earlier reported that French embassy in Yaounde had confirmed that seven people were abducted by armed men on motorbikes and were being taken towards Nigeria.
Cameroon Information Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said he could not confirm the report for now. The French foreign ministry said it was checking the information.
The tourists were kidnapped at around 7 a.m. in a small village about 10 km (six miles) from the Nigerian border in the north of the country, where Westerners often go for holidays.
The kidnappings come amid a French-led intervention in Mali to oust Islamist rebels. Eight French citizens are being held in the Sahel region by Islamist groups.
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