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France is warning its citizens to stay away from parts of Africa after an aid worker was executed by an Al-Qaeda group in North Africa. The man was killed in retaliation to a raid by French forces on an Al-Qaeda camp last week. Reporter Anita Elash says the death has shaken the French public.

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JEB SHARP: An al-Qaeda-linked group is taking responsibility for the killing of a French aid worker in northern Africa. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb says it executed Michel Germaneau in retaliation for a French military operation in the Sahara last week. France’s president is vowing to take action. Anita Elash reports from Paris.

ANITA ELASH:  President Nicolas Sarkozy made a rare televised speech this morning to confirm the killing of Michel Germaneau.

FRENCH SPEAKING

ELASH: He said, “I condemn this barbaric and odious act which has taken an innocent victim, a person who was devoted to helping the local population. My fellow countrymen, the crime against Michel Germaneau will not go unpunished.” Germaneau was seventy-eight and suffered from heart disease. He worked for a humanitarian group in Niger. He was kidnapped in April by members of the group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Magreb. The group grew out of an Islamist insurgency movement in Algeria and it merged with al-Qaeda in 2006. In a recording broadcast on Al Jazeera, the group’s leader, Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud, claimed responsibility for Germaneau’s death. He said it was revenge for a French attack on one of al-Qaeda’s bases in North Africa. Wadoud characterized the raid as a failed rescue attempt.

ARABIC SPEAKING

ABU MUSAB ABDEL WADOUD: Sarkozy failed to secure the freedom of his citizen through this failed operation. However, he certainly opened the doors of Hell for himself, his citizens and his country.

ELASH: Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb has made France one of its main targets. That’s because of France’s colonial history in northern Africa, and because of its participation in the war in Afghanistan. But until this weekend many observers in France believed the group was only a minor threat. Security specialist Mathieu Guidere says the al-Qaeda affiliate has gotten involved in the drug trade and is growing stronger. It has kidnapped other French, Spanish and British citizens. But Germaneau was the first to be killed.

MATHIEU GUIDERE: Until now, we were used to negotiating with terrorist groups in order to free our citizens, but now we know that the terrorist groups are very radical and they can kill people.

ELASH: Guidere says its likely France will stop the practice of negotiating for the release of hostages. He adds that France is also likely to step up its special forces operations in northwest Africa. For The World, I’m Anita Elash in Paris.

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