Abduction of the French familiy in Cameroon: the search continues

The hostage taking has not been claimed and the confusion, not to mention the mess yesterday, encourages greater caution. Unlike one of his ministers who announced thehotages had been found on Thursday before retracting , François Hollande has refrained from any definitive statement.

According to the French President, the 7 hostages were probably separated into two groups. Their place of detention is still uncertain as the Nigerian authorities have not confirmed that the French and their captors are now on their territory.

That said, Abuja has deployed significant resources to find the seven captives and their captors. The border with Cameroon, located in Borno State was combed by security forces supported for the occasion by the immigration services.

To maintain the minimum discretion in this type of operation on Thursday night, no Nigerian official source was prepared to say much. However, the Nigerian security services could be a serious tracking force. According to sources, the military suspected that the French and their captors are north of Maiduguri, near the road leading to Lake Chad. This area is known to be one of the strongholds of the Islamist sect Boko Haram.