Two French journalists killed in northern Mali

Two French journalists snatched by gunmen in the northern Malian town of Kidal today have been killed, a local prefect, sources from the Tuareg separatist group MNLA and Malian security services told Reuters.

“A few minutes after a pursuit began for the abductors of the two French, we were informed that their bodies were found riddled with bullets outside the town,” said Paul-Marie Sidibe, prefect of the town of Tinzawaten, who is based in Kidal.

A senior MNLA military official also said the bodies had been recovered outside Kidal. A Mali security source said the journalists were killed about 12 km outside the town.

Both journalists, from French radio station RFI, were seized after they had interviewed Kidal resident Ambeiry Ag Rhissa, a local culture official the MNLA Tuareg separatist group.

“When they left, I heard a strange noise outside. I immediately went out to see and when I opened my door, a turbaned man pointed a gun at me and told me go back inside,” Mr Rhissa said.

"I could not see how many men were there," he said. The kidnapping happened four days after four French hostages taken in Niger by al-Qaeda's north African wing in September 2010 were released.

Reuters