CNN. French hostage Michel Germaneau has been executed by his al-Qaeda-linked captors in the north African country of Mauritania, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday.
Sarkozy vowed that the "crime committed against Michel Germaneau will not be left unpunished."
"We are dealing with people who have no respect for human life," he said in a televised statement, condemning the "barbaric act" and warning French people not to travel in the region.
A man claiming to be the chief of the terrorist group that captured Germaneau claimed in a video Sunday that the 78-year-old had been executed.
The video aired Sunday on the TV network Al-Jazeera.
Germaneau, a director, was abducted in Niger on April 19. The video shows Germaneau's photo along with images of the French flag and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's black-and-white flag.
