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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Tourists shot dead in Mauritania | Tourists shot dead in Mauritania |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Four members of the same French family have been shot dead while on holiday in Mauritania, police say. | |
| At least two children were among the dead, the French embassy in Mauritania told the AFP news agency. | |
| The four were killed during a robbery, the police chief of the nearby town of Aleg told AP news agency. | |
| A fifth person - said to be the father of the family - was seriously injured in the attack, about 250km (160 miles) east of the capital, Nouakchott. | A fifth person - said to be the father of the family - was seriously injured in the attack, about 250km (160 miles) east of the capital, Nouakchott. |
| The wounded man was receiving treatment in hospital in Aleg but would be transferred immediately to Nouakchott, the French embassy official added. | The wounded man was receiving treatment in hospital in Aleg but would be transferred immediately to Nouakchott, the French embassy official added. |
| French President Nicolas Sarkozy said details of the incident were not yet clear. | |
| "It's still too early to say exactly what the reasons were for this attack which I can't describe because we don't know the motivation or even really how it occurred," he said during a visit to a Paris hospital. | |
| "As things stand, I can only confirm this sad news and offer my condolences." | |
| The attack is being seen as rare in the south of Mauritania, a former French colony which enjoys relative stability. The north of the country is generally regarded as less safe for travellers. | |
| Demands | Demands |
| The five victims had stopped on the side of a road for a picnic when the gunmen approached demanding money, Aleg police chief Mohamed Ould Lemine told AP. | |
| The gunmen took their money and then opened fire with automatic weapons, before speeding off in a car, the police chief said. | The gunmen took their money and then opened fire with automatic weapons, before speeding off in a car, the police chief said. |
| The car was later reported to have been found in Aleg, and police were said to be conducting house-to-house inquiries in the town. | |
| Mauritania is one of the world's poorest countries, but has hopes for future prosperity based on the exploitation of its offshore reserves of oil and natural gas. | Mauritania is one of the world's poorest countries, but has hopes for future prosperity based on the exploitation of its offshore reserves of oil and natural gas. |