Two French journalists killed by armed gunmen in Mali
TWO French journalists kidnapped by gunmen in Mali have been killed.
Armed snatchers in Kidal, Mali took the pair that work for French radio station RFI at 1pm today.
The spokesperson for the French foreign ministry confirmed that both Claude Verlon and Ghislaine Dupont "were found dead in Mali".
Paul-Marie Sidibe, prefect of the town of Tinzawaten and based in Kidal, also revealed the sad news.
He said: "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."
A security source in Mali said the journalists were killed about 12 km (8 miles) outside the town.
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
Radio station RFI earlier confirmed the pair, who were working on a project in Mali, were taken earlier on today.
Sources said four men made the journalists get into a truck at gunpoint as it sped off into the desert.
Earlier this week, four Frenchmen were released three years after being kidnapped by al-Qaeda-linked gunmen targeting French firms operating a uranium mine in neighbouring Niger.
France sent in thousands of troops earlier this year to rid the country of Islamist rebels in the north of the country.
After handing the operation over to the UN in the summer, 200 French troops and 200 UN peacekeepers remain based in Kidal.