Brussels, 10/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - The EU has strongly condemned the kidnapping and killing of two French nationals last Saturday in Niger. The French and Niger authorities both suspect that they fell into the hands of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQI).
On Monday 10 January, the spokesperson for Catherine Ashton, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, declared that “following the kidnapping and the killing of two young Frenchmen in Niger, Catherine Ashton has expressed the EU's strong condemnation of this heinous act”. She also expressed her condolences and deep sympathy for the families of the victims, as well as the national authorities and relatives of the Niger security agents who were also killed in this tragic event.
The declaration underlines the determination of the EU to develop “a global strategy ... to eliminate the threat of terrorism, which represents a great hindrance for the stability and the efforts to develop and expand the economies of the countries in the Sahel”. (A.N./transl.fl)