European Commission President José Durão Barroso has spoken of his “sorrow” over the brutal killing of two French journalists in Mali recently. “It was a barbaric murder which left us sad and outraged,” he said
The brutality of the case has prompted strong reactions from a number of international leaders.
Media reports reveal that Claude Verlon, 53, and Ghislaine Dupont, 57, had just finished interviewing a local official with the MNLA Tuareg separatist group in Kidal in the north of Mali.
Shortly after, they were abducted in front of the official’s house at gunpoint in a 4×4 vehicle and their bodies were found later outside the town with several gunshot wounds.
French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius said that the journalists were “cold-bloodedly killed by terrorist groups which we are fighting in Mali”.
France began a military intervention in Mali – one of its former colonies – at the beginning of this year in order to expel Islamic rebel groups, some of which are believed to be connected to Al-Qaeda. The groups had infiltrated the northern region of the country and taken over an important part of the territory.
Although responsibility for security was handed over to the UN, French troops are still in Mali to prevent a resurgence of militant activity in the region.
