Credit: Yuannei_Yong/flickrMen claiming to be from the
Nigerian-based terrorist organization Boko Haram have released a
video of a French family that was kidnapped last week in Cameroon.
In the video the terrorists demand that the Nigerian and
Cameroonian governments release Islamic militants that they have
captured.

One of the terrorists who spoke in the video referenced the
French-led intervention in Mali. From Reuters:

The hostage-taking highlighted the risk to French citizens in
Africa after Paris sent thousands of troops into Mali last month to
oust al Qaeda-linked Islamists operating in the country’s vast
desert north.

“The president of France has launched a war on Islam and we are
fighting it everywhere,” said one of the apparent kidnappers,
speaking in Arabic and identifying himself as a member of Boko
Haram. “Implement our demands. If you leave out even one, we will
kill these people.”

According to
The Guardian one of the terrorists in the video said that
the French nationals, who include three adults and four children,
were taken in retaliation for the French-led intervention in
Mali.

The video was released on the same day that the French
government warned the 3,700
French nationals in Benin of an increased risk of kidnapping
and attacks, citing a threat near Niger.

The video of the hostages and the new warning come
amid news that Chadian soldiers, who are assisting French and
Malian forces, have been engaged in fighting against Islamic
militants in the north of Mali, with 23 Chadian soldiers and 93
Islamic militants reportedly killed.

At least one French official believes that the French
intervention in Mali has led to an increased risk of
domestic terrorism. The recent kidnapping and warning in Benin
are the most recent reminders that the French government should
continue to expect retaliations for the intervention in Mali, at
home and abroad.