On July 27, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said that France was at war with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) , the al Qaeda node in North Africa. This followed a live televised broadcast the day before by French President Nicolas Sarkozy confirming that a 78-year-old French hostage captured by AQIM operatives in April in Mali had been killed by his captors. Urging French citizens to avoid travel to the Sahara-Sahel region, Sarkozy condemned the act and vowed a determined effort against the group. Fillon's announcement came three days after the end of a four-day French-backed offensive by Mauritanian troops against AQIM militants suspected of holding the French hostage deep into the Malian portion of the Sahara.