By Agencies

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French President Francois Hollande has said that seven French nationals, four adults and three children, have been kidnapped in Cameroon by an organisation known to French authorities.

Hollande confirmed the kidnapping during a visit to Greece on Tuesday, saying the group, who were visiting the Waza National Park, were all tourists from the same family who had been seized by a Nigerian-based "terrorist group".

An anonymous source said the tourists went to visit the park, located near the Nigerian border, on Monday. "They slept in the park's tourist camp where they left this morning," the source said.

A security source in the area told the AFP news agency that security forces were hunting for the kidnappers the length of the border with Nigeria.

It is the first time that Western tourists have been kidnapped in Cameroon, although hostage taking frequently occurs off the Cameroonian coast, the last incident dating back to February 8.

The risk of attacks on French nationals and interests in Africa has risen since France sent forces into Mali last month
to help oust rebels occupying the country's north.

Ansaru, a little-known Nigerian armed group, has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of seven foreigners in a deadly weekend raid on a construction site in the country's north.

An analysis published on Monday by Stratfor, a US-based private global intelligence firm, suggested the group had strong ties with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the Africa branch of the network.

It warned that there likely to be more attacks by Ansaru targeting Westerners and Western interests in Nigeria, as well as neighbouring nations.