Bamako - Armed men have kidnapped a French national in northern Mali in the Sahel zone where Tuareg rebels, al-Qaeda militants and all kinds of traffickers roam freely.
In recent years, several western nationals have been kidnapped in neighbouring Niger or in Tunisia and brought to northern Mali. With the exception of one British hostage killed in June 2009, all were released. According to observers, ransoms were paid in all cases but the governments concerned vehemently deny this.
The man, identified as Pierre Kamatte, 61, "was kidnapped in Menaka from lodging in a hotel," a Malian government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP. "We are doing everything we can to ensure he will quickly regain his freedom."
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A Menake municipal counsellor told AFP that he was taken "by three armed men who were wearing turbans".
The French foreign ministry also confirmed the kidnapping and recalled in a statement that Kamatte was in a zone that French nationals are formally discouraged from visiting.
Menaka is some 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) north of the capital Bamako in the Sahel region which has been the scene of trafficking and smuggling of all kinds by organised crime groups.
Tuareg rebels and Islamic militants - who claim to belong to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) - roam freely between Mali and its neighbouring countries.
Late in 2008 and early in 2009 two Canadian diplomats and four European tourists were kidnapped by unidentified armed men in the same region. They were later transferred to the custody of AQIM. In April, the two Canadians and two female tourists were released, after negotiations with the AQIM militants.
In June the group announced it had killed British tourist Edwin Dyer. His fellow hostage, Werner Greiner from Switzerland, was released in July this year.
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