Mauritanians protesting the recent coup inside this northwest African state. The military seized power in the country where the US has established training programs.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
Mauritanian army soldiers took part in an operation Thursday targeting members of an Al-Qaeda-linked group in the border region of northern Mali and Mauritania, security officials said.
"The Mauritanian army attacked elements of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb (AQIM) on Thursday," a Mauritanian military source, contacted by telephone from Mali, told AFP.
Malian security sources confirmed the operation to AFP, adding that
Mali had authorised the operation, and a security source in Burkina
Faso, also contacted from Mali, said they had been "informed of the
attack by Mauritanian forces against AQIM."
But neither Mauritanian nor Malian government officials were able to
confirm the report of the swoop on AQIM.
Members of AQIM are holding 78-year-old French aid worker Michel
Germaneau hostage and have threatened to kill him.
Germaneau was kidnapped in northern Niger in April, when he was
working with the Enmilal aid group to improve health services and
schools in the impoverished Sahel country.
Officials in France and Niger believe he is being held in Mali.
The French foreign ministry said Thursday it had received no demands from Germaneau's kidnappers but took their threat to kill Germaneau seriously.
Spanish newspapers El Pais and ABC meanwhile said on their websites a French military operation to free Germaneau failed early Thursday.
Six suspected extremists were killed and others fled the undisclosed
scene, possibly in Mali, during the operation, the papers reported
quoting diplomatic sources.
AQIM killed British tourist Edwin Dyer last year after holding him
captive for six months, when London refused to yield to the Islamists'
demands to free jailed Muslim cleric Abu Qatada, once regarded as
Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe.
1 comment:
I was listening to the news and some documentary the other day about some Al-Qaeda linked Groups in Africa and begin to wonder "Are Africans really Prepared for this or just being motivated to do so?"
Recently, some African leaders sent in Soldiers to the middle east; should that be our best move or use our available resources and man power to eradicate these issue of terrorism in Africa?
Countries like Chad, Mali, Niger and Mauritania need food and shelter and if these so called terrorist group could get to them with these basic materials before our Leaders, then Africa might be heading to a Road of No Return.
http://factaboutafrica.blogspot.com/
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