UNITED NATIONS, July 26 (Saba) -- UN Secretary-general Ban Ki- moon on Monday "strongly condemned" the killing of a French humanitarian worker in the Sahel region, a UN spokesman said here, according to Xinhua.

Martin Nesirky, Ban's spokesman, told a daily briefing here that the secretary-general described as "a reprehensible act" the killing of a French national working on a humanitarian project in the Sahel region.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for the killing of the 78-year-old French aid worker, Michel Germaneau, who was kidnapped and later killed in the Sahel region, reports said.

"The secretary-general strongly condemns the killing of Michel Germaneau, a French national working on a humanitarian projects in the Sahel region, a reprehensible act for which Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb has claimed responsibility," Nesirky said in a statement.

"The secretary-general considers this latest incident a strong reminder of the urgent need to defeat terrorism throughout the world, and in the Sahel region in particular," the spokesman said.

Earlier on Monday, French President Nicola Sarkozy condemned the slaying and vowed to avenge the killing of the French hostage.

Germaneau was seized on April 19 in Niger where he had been building a school.

Saba