(4 Nov 2013) A ceremony was held at Bamako International Airport on Monday for the two French radio journalists who were kidnapped and shot dead in the north of the country.
Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were grabbed by four men on Saturday after interviewing a Tuareg rebel leader in the northern city of Kidal.
Dupont was shot in the chest and Verlon was shot in the head, both of them "coldly assassinated," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Monday.
Their coffins were taken to Bamako airport ahead of their repatriation back to France.
They were honoured there with a special ceremony attended by a number of dignitaries, including the President of Mali Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and the French ambassador to Mali.
"Through their work about which they had unparalleled passion, they made us confident in ourselves and the near and immediate future of Mali," said the Malian Minister of Communication, Jean Marie Idrissa Sangare.
A Malian intelligence official said on Monday that about a half-dozen suspects had been arrested in connection with the two journalists deaths.
The director of Radio France Internationale confirmed multiple arrests.
The kidnappers' car had a broken steering wheel, suggesting the vehicle broke down, according to the Malian official, who refused to be named because he was not authorised to speak to reporters.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius could not confirm the arrests and France's Defence Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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