**A French national has been kidnapped in the northern Mali town of Menaka by armed gunmen, officials say.**The man, whose identity has not yet been confirmed, was said to have been taken on Wednesday.
The UK recently warned its nationals not to visit northern Mali because of the threat of attack by the North African branch of al-Qaeda.
The group has seized several Westerners for ransom in recent months- sometimes kidnapping them in foreign countries.
An unnamed Menaka municipal counsellor told AFP news agency that the man had been “taken by three armed men who were were wearing turbans”.
In June British tourist Edwin Dyer was killed in Mali by militants. He had been kidnapped in Niger in six months earlier close to the border with Mali.
Last month the US said it was preparing to give Mali’s army millions of dollars worth of military hardware to help them fight al-Qaeda’s North African branch.