France sent commandos into Somalia to rescue a secret agent who had been held by insurgents since 2009, but said yesterday it believed he had been killed by his captors along with a French soldier during the raid.
France has eight nationals in Islamist hands in the Sahara after a string of kidnappings
The intelligence agency’s team flew into Somalia by helicopter under the cover of darkness to try to free Denis Allex from the Al-Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, on the same day that France launched air strikes against Islamist militants in Mali.
Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the operations were not connected, but France has been concerned that other hostages held in Africa may be at risk if they intervened against Al-Qaeda-allied fighters on the other side of Africa.
The Somalia raid, and sending troops to Mali where a pilot was killed in action on Friday, represents President François Hollande’s biggest foreign policy tests since being elected in May.
France has eight nationals in Islamist hands in the Sahara after a string of kidnappings.
“Commandos broke into where Allex was being detained last night and faced strong resistance,” Le Drian told a news conference.
“Intense combat took place, during which – and now I speak with caution – everything leads us to believe that Denis Allex was unfortunately killed by his captors.”
Al Shabaab, who had been holding Allex since July 2009, said in a statement he was still alive and being held at a location far from the base where French military helicopters attacked overnight.
“The injured French soldier is now in the custody of the mujahideen and Allex remains safe and far from the location,” it said.
“Several French soldiers were killed in the battle and many more were injured before they fled from the scene of battle, leaving behind some military paraphernalia and even one of their comrades on the ground.”
Le Drian said one French soldier died in the operation and a second was missing.
The Defence Ministry earlier said 17 Somali fighters were killed in the fighting that had been prompted by “the intransigence of the terrorists, who refused to negotiate for three and half years”.
Allex was one of two French intelligence officers from the DGSE intelligence agency who were kidnapped in Mogadishu in July 2009 but his colleague escaped a month later.
Allex had been held in what France called “inhumane conditions”.
The ministry said he was kidnapped when he was carrying out an official aid mission with the Somali Government. France has previously said the two men were in the Somali capital to train local forces.
A video of Allex pleading with Hollande to negotiate his release and save his life appeared on a website in October used by Islamist militant groups .
Hollande said at the time the Government was seeking to start talks with any party able to facilitate Allex’s release.
Al Shabaab has lost many of its major urban strongholds in south-central Somalia since it launched a rebellion against the Western-backed Government in 2007.