Two French journalists executed in Mali

French Foreign Ministry confirms that RFI journalists were abducted and killed by gunmen outside town of Kidal.

Two French journalists have been killed in the northern Mali town of Kidal after being abducted by gunmen.

Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon, both journalists with French radio Radio France Internationale, were seized on Saturday afternoon after they had finished an interview with a Tuareg rebel leader when several armed men grabbed them, according to a city official.

"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," said Paul-Marie Sidibe, prefect of the town of Tinzawaten, who is based in Kidal.

A senior Tuareg official also said the bodies had been recovered outside Kidal. A Mali security source said the journalists were killed about 12 km outside the town.

The French foreign ministry confirmed their deaths in a statement, saying they were abducted by an armed group.

"The French government, in conjunction with the Malian authorities will make every effort to find out as soon as possible about the circumstances of their death," said the statement.

The executions occur as the government is trying to talk with rebels in the north to prevent a wider conflict in the country.