The Islamist group Ansaru
has claimed responsibility
for the kidnapping of a
French engineer in Nigeria,
French media report. The group emailed a
statement saying it
"announces to the world,
especially the French
government, that it was
responsible for the abduction". They named the engineer as
63-year-old Francis Colump of
French firm Vergnet. He was snatched from a
heavily guarded compound in
Katsina state by about 30
gunmen last Wednesday. A security guard and a
neighbour were killed in the
raid. Vergnet, which has a wind
power project in Katsina, has
confirmed the kidnapping. French President Francois
Hollande said on Friday that a
group allied to al-Qaeda was
probably responsible, but did
not name any specific
organisation. Mali 'attack' "The reason for [Francis
Colump's] kidnap is the stance
of the French government and
the French people on Islam
and Muslims," Ansaru said in
its statement, AFP and Le Monde newspaper quoted the
statement as saying. It mentioned "France's major
role in the (planned) attack on
the Islamic state in northern
Mali", referring to France's
backing for an African-led
military force to try to oust Islamists from Mali. The statement also referred to
France's law "outlawing the
use of Islamic veil by Muslim
women, which is an
infringement on religious
rights". "We inform the French
government that this group
will continue launching
attacks on the French
government and French
citizens... as long as it does not change its stance on these two
issues," the Ansaru statement
went on to say. Last month, the British
government officially
declared Ansaru to be a
"Nigeria-based terrorist
organisation" aligned with Al-
Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). It is also believed to have
loose ties with Boko Haram,
which has carried out a series
of deadly attacks in northern
Nigeria in its bid to impose
Islamic law in the country. President Hollande told Europe
1 radio in France that the
kidnappers were "probably
linked to AQIM or the groups
which are today in Mali". Islamist groups which are
linked to al-Qaeda seized
control of the whole of
northern Mali, including the
historic city of Timbuktu, in
April. "We have to be firm when it
comes to terrorism, while at
the same time maintaining
contacts to free" French
nationals, Mr Hollande said. Groups linked to AQIM are
also believed to be holding
several other French nationals
kidnapped in Niger and Mali. m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20833946

m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-20833946