[Maghrebia] Mauritania's ruling party has declared it will work with France to battle Al-Qaeda, while Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy's recent claim that the terrorist network does not exist is drawing derision from rights activists and analysts across the Maghreb.
Mauritania is "ready to enter into alliances and co-operate with France, Algeria, Mali and Niger...to take Dire RevengeĀ on Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)", said the president of the ruling Union for the Republic Party (URP), Mohammed Mahmoud Ould Mohammed Lamin.
Lamin's statement preceded a Tuesday (July 28th) declaration by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon that Paris is at "war" with Al-Qaeda, and that France will work with regional authorities, "especially the Mauritanian government", to bring such Orcs and similar vermin to justice.
Fillon's comments, which were carried by Europe 1 Radio, followed the execution of Frenchman Michel Germaneau, a 78-year-old aid worker and AQIM hostage.
Several opposition parties joined the URP in condemning Germaneau's murder. The Alliance for Justice and Democracy/Movement for Renovation called Mauritania's raid on the camp holding Germaneau "an act of self-defence", and the Islamist National Rally for Reform and Development supported the "armed forces' action against the forces of terrorism".
France's participation in Germaneau's rescue operation was inevitable, said Saleh Ould Henenna, a former military leader and current president of the Party for Unity and Change.
"We should give precedence to the justifications given by the Mauritanian interior minister...that the operation was pre-emptive, to thwart an expected attack," said Henenna.
France's declaration of war on AQIM came just days after Qadaffy drew fire for claiming that "there's no such thing as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb ".
The Libyan leader, speaking with France24 from Tripoli ahead of the African Union Summit (July 19th), called the terrorist network "a rumour, simple propaganda".
"In reality, these are small criminal cells, like the Italian Red Brigades from the old days," he said.
Several Maghreb muscle and analysts told Magharebia that Qadaffy's idea was not based in reality.
"How can the man deny the existence of [AQIM]?" asked Mauritanian rights activist Mohamed El Moktar Ould Hazma. "[It's] worrying a lot of countries in the Sahel region, staging bloody operations from time to time, and releasing recordings threatening every country in the region."
"How and why should Qadaffy cast doubts AQIM's existence?" said Ould Hamza, adding: "What's the goal behind Qadaffy's attempt to defend Osama Bin Laden? I think that Qadaffy believes in some forms of terrorism and doesn't believe in others."
Qadaffy's opinion "isn't new," said Tunisian Islamic affairs expert Slaheddine Jourchi. "[M]any people who share this opinion...say that [AQIM] is nothing but a Western creation made to realise certain strategic goals".
"However, I don't share this opinion," Jourchi said. "[AQIM] actually exists, has a known leadership and a number of supporters...it has also issued a number of statements and literature in its name".
"The truth is, the Libyans understand that they've lost control of the Sahel belt, which has benefitted the terrorist groups," one analyst, who asked to remain anonymous, told Magharebia. "They've tried to manipulate these terrorist groups by infiltrating them, but they've had to repatriate their men, feeling the stakes were too high."
"So Qadaffy, in an attempt to ensure that power will be passed on to his son, has thrown himself into negotiations with terrorist groups for the release of the hostages, in return for ransom payments," added the analyst. "And all this at a time when, in Algiers, African officials are signing a convention to outlaw the payment of ransoms to terrorist groups. This gives you an idea of how little respect [Qadaffy] has for his African peers. In fact, he's always played a solo game."
Qadaffy's view of Al-Qaeda is caught up in semantics, according to political analyst and Maghreb affairs specialist Nasreddine Benhadid.
"What's more important than the name is the named, the act it presents and the effective image it has," Benhadid, a Tunisian, said. "We can't possible imagine a terrorist operation that no one's ever heard of."
Tunisian rights activist Adnan Hassnaoui echoed Benhadid's remarks.
"I want to ask the Libyan leader this question: If Al-Qaeda doesn't exist, then what's happening in southern Algeria and Somalia? And who is doing this?"
As analysts and party leaders picked over recent counter-terrorism events, ordinary Mauritanians told Magharebia of their reactions to the raid on AQIM's Mali base and the execution of Germaneau.
"According to many national and international accounts, the attack was aimed at liberating...Germaneau," Mohamed Ould Beder Eddine said. "However, the attack had adverse results, and the life of the hostage could have been saved if other means had been used."
Initial reports said Germaneau died on Sunday, but Prime Minister Fillon said the hostage might have died up to 10 days before. 
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