French nationals among seven workers kidnapped in Niger

Niamey, 17 Sept-(ANA)-Seven employees of French construction company Vinci and nuclear energy firm Areva have been kidnapped in northern Niger, reports say.

The group, which included five French citizens, was seized overnight in the town of Arlit, in the Sahara desert.

Areva operates a uranium mine near Arlit. A subsidiary of Vinci, Sogea-Satom, is employed as a subcontractor.

President Nicolas Sarkozy said he has asked the Niger authorities "to do all they can to free them".

A French foreign ministry spokesman confirmed the kidnappings and said its officials were "totally mobilised".

When asked who he thought was behind the abduction, Bernard Valero told the Reuters news agency: "The security threat is so vague, so imprecise. Political terrorism is always very difficult to establish. (ANA)

FA/ANA/17 September 2010-------