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| Africa: North |
| Sahraoui’s demise a blow to al-Qaeda’s Sahara ambitions |
| 2004-06-21 |
| The death of Algeria’s top militant has robbed al Qaeda of a potentially key ally in north Africa and may pave the way for an end to the region’s longest-running Islamic "holy war", an expert said on Monday. His death is significant because he radicalised Algeria’s principal Islamic rebel group by aligning it to al Qaeda, kidnapped 32 European tourists in the Sahara last year, and declared war on foreign individuals and companies in Algeria. Analysts say in addition to Sahraoui, the head of the committee that picked GSPC commanders and the group’s explosives expert were among seven militants killed on Thursday and Friday east of Algiers in an army sweep involving thousands of troops. "Al Qaeda has inevitably lost Algeria," said national newspaper L’Expression, adding that one of Osama bin Laden’s post-September 11, 2001, strategies was to extend his network in north Africa. Concern grew after the GSPC’s second-in-command, Amari Saifi, alias Abderrazak el Para, secured five million euros for the European hostages and used the money to buy arms. But Saifi is the only senior GSPC member still alive and he is being held by Chadian rebels who are negotiating his transfer to Algerian authorities. "It’s the beginning of the elimination of a terrorist group which more or less remained the only organised Algerian Islamic force since 1992," said Mahmoud Belhimer, a professor at the University of Algiers and a newspaper editor. The surrender of thousands of rebels following a 1999 amnesty offer and an aggressive military campaign has all but paralyzed the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which only a few years ago was the country’s top rebel group. The GSPC was created in 1998 by disillusioned GIA members. It is believed to have some 500 armed members, but security experts and rebel sources say many are keen to surrender, a move Sahraoui opposed. "The success of the armed forces does not mean terrorism has immediately and definitely been extinguished...it can resurface, which is why pressure on these groups must be maintained and intensified," said newspaper Le Quotidien d’Oran. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #1 A welcome blessing. Still, I don't imagine human resource obstacles will prevent Osama from keeping the heat on in north Africa. |
| Posted by: jules 187 2004-06-21 5:58:16 PM |