A leader of Al-Qaeda in North Africa has urged Muslims worldwide to attack French interests in retaliation for France's military intervention in Mali, a threat President Francois Hollande said is being taken seriously, reports GlobalPost.
"It is your duty, all Muslims... to attack French interests everywhere," Abu Obaida al-Annabi said in a video message posted online.
Annabi, presented as the head of the council of dignitaries of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), called for "full mobilisation" to combat the "new crusade of France."
"Jihad (holy war) is now the duty of every capable among you," he said in a recording dated April 25.
France sent troops in January to Mali to quash Al-Qaeda-linked groups that had taken control of half of the country.
French troops fighting alongside the Malian army and other African soldiers have largely succeeded in driving Islamist insurgents from the north, but pockets of resistance remain, particularly in the Gao region.
France has begun withdrawing some of its 4,000 troops and said it will leave 2,000 soldiers on the ground throughout the summer.
Read more of this AFP report published by GlobalPost.