A French priest has been kidnapped in northern Cameroon close to the border with Nigeria, the French foreign ministry said, according to BBC News.

Georges Vandenbeusch was seized in the early hours of Thursday , Nov 14, in Koza, about 30km (19 miles) from the border.

"We are working with Cameroonian authorities to secure his release," French officials said in a statement.

The Nigerian Islamist militant group, Boko Haram, is known to operate in the area.

France says it warned people that the area was dangerous but that "Father Georges chose to remain in his parish to carry out his work".

Earlier this year, seven members of a French family - three of them children - were abducted by Islamist militants and held hostage for two months.