El Khabar reports that al Qaeda in North Africa is planning to name a new leader in the Sahara desert. Yahia Abou Ammar was expected to replace Mokhtar Belmokhtar, known for his links to smugglers in desert areas bordering Mali and Niger. Newspaper commentators say that Belmokhtar, an Algerian veteran of the Afghan war against Soviet occupation, has been criticised by some colleagues for mounting what they see as an inadequate number of attacks on Algerian security forces. Some commentators have said Belmokhtar is in talks with the Algerian authorities who are seeking to persuade him to disarm in return for amnesty.