France won’t negotiate with alleged Boko Haram hostage takers
French Defence Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian welcomes Malian Foreign Affairs Minister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly before their meeting, on January 15, 2013 in Paris. Hundreds of Malian and French troops were en route today afternoon to the western town of Diabaly, which Islamists seized the day before, prompting airstrikes from French fighter jets overnight, witnesses said.
France won't negotiate with alleged Boko Haram members for the release of seven captured French tourists, including four children, said French defense minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday.
"We do not negotiate on that kind of basis, with these kind of groups," said Le Drian, according to Reuters.
Read more from GlobalPost: French family kidnapped by militants show up in menacing YouTube video
"We will use all (other) possible means to ensure that these and other (French) hostages are freed," he added, noting that "…We do not play this bidding game because that's terrorism."
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault stated on Feb 25th that the family is likely being held by Boko Haram, writes Bloomberg.
The family of seven had been living in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde, and had been coming back from a visit to Waza National Park when they were kidnapped.
Footage of the family was recently put up on YouTube by alleged Boko Haram members, who demanded the release of members of their group in both Cameroon and Nigeria.
“The president of France has launched a war on Islam,” one of the kidnappers said in the video, according to Al Arabiya, which added that the kidnappers said they will kill the hostages if France fails to meet their demands.