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| Africa North |
| Sahel: 1st joint patrols Mali/ Mauritania in northern Mali |
| 2010-11-07 |
| [Ennahar] Malian and Mauritanian military have, for the first time, set up joint patrols in the desert of northern Mali to strengthen the fight against Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) very active in this region. A few hundred Malian military vehicles have joined the Mauritanian troops who arrived last week, about 80 kilometers north of Timbuktu (northern Mali). "You see, we are brothers, our goal is the same: to ensure the security of our people, not leave the ground to terrorists, preventing the organization from any attack," told AFP a Mauritanian military, taking the arm of a Malian military in a friendly gesture. "Today we are in the Malian desert. Tomorrow, together we can go, we will go, in the Mauritanian desert. Together we can fight against insecurity. The problems of Mali are problems of Mauritania, and those of Mauritania are those of Mali," said an officer of the Malian side. These joint patrols, the first ever held between the two armies will continue "the time it takes," said a source close to the two armies. Some hundreds of military vehicles, including armored cars, were traveling in this area, found Saturday an AFP journalist. The Mauritanian army has conducted several operations in northern Mali, in July and September, to prevent attacks by AQIM in its territory. |
| Posted by:Fred |