7 French tourists kidnapped in north Cameroon

Several French tourists were kidnapped earlier Tuesday somewhere near Babanga, a city in the extreme-north region of Cameoon on the border with Nigeria, Cameroonian Minister of Defense Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo'o told Xinhua. "They were kidnapped between Babanga and Kousseri," said the Cameroonian minister, contacted by phone. Earlier Tuesday, French Presidency confirmed that three adults and four children of a same family have been kidnapped in the north of Cameroun. Reports said the tourists slept in the park's tourist camp Monday night and left the park earlier Tuesday morning. The vehicle used by the kidnapped French has been found, regional delegate of the Ministry of Forest and Faune, Jean David Ndjigba, told Xinhua. The vehicle has been found in Babanga, but without the tourists in it, he said. The governor the extreme-north region is expected to inspect the zone in search of the kidnapped, he added. Along the border in the north of Cameroon, hostage taking frequently occurs, but it is the first time that Western tourists have been kidnapped in Cameroon. Residents in Babanga told Xinhua by phone that Babanga is separated from the neighboring Nigerian village of Rimele by a small river, which is dried up these months since it is the dry season.