The Nigerian and Cameroonian government are at the mercy of the Boko Haram Islamist sect, whose members last week kidnapped a family of seven French citizens from Cameroon and are believed to be holding them hostage in Nigeria, threatening to kill them if the two governments refuse to release all their members and women arrested and detained so far.
The threat was issued on Monday when the sect released a three-minute video showing the victims, comprising three adults and four children. The video, posted on YouTube, showed the victims surrounded by three gunmen wearing turbans and dressed in camouflage.
At the start of the video, the head of the family that was kidnapped read a statement from a piece of paper, his four children in front of him, his wife and brother beside him. Two of the abductors were also seen holding weapons and ammunition, while a banner with two rifles hung behind them.
Though a spokesman for Boko Haram had earlier denied any connection with the kidnapping, the video showed one of the hostages saying, “We have been taken by Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad.”
The hostage, who sat beside the other victims and spoke in French further said, “They want the liberation of their brothers in Cameroon and their women imprisoned in Nigeria.”
One of the sect members who spoke in Arabic said, “The president of France has launched a war on Islam and we are fighting it everywhere…Implement our demands. If you leave out even one, we will kill these people…If you want us to release these French citizens, quickly release all our women you are detaining.”
The sect may have been angered by France’s sending of thousands of troops to Mali last month to oust al Qaeda-linked Islamists operating in the country. France’s Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, who confirmed seeing the video, described the images as terribly shocking and showing a cruelty without limits.
“For all of us, these images are terribly shocking,” he said. “They display a cruelty without bounds. We are proceeding with the checks required in these circumstances. All state resources are mobilised to free our compatriots.”
The family, identified as Tanguy Moulin-Fournier and his wife Albane, as well as their four sons, Eloi, Andeol, Mael and Clarence were based in Yaounde, the Cameroonian capital, were visiting the Waza National Park when they were kidnapped.
Tanguy’s brother, Cyril Moulin-Fournier, was on vacation and came to join them from Barcelona, Spain.
