 The military commandant of the Tuareg rebels in Mali, Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Fagaga has threatened eliminating elements belonging to Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, GSPC activating in the Sahara, in case attempting approaching areas being controlled by the rebels adjacent to Algeria's southern borders. Lieutenant Colonel Fagaga told El Khabar in a phone call yesterday, the rebels have managed intercepting movements of GSPC elements, now known as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, inside Mali and Kidal region, the nearest Malian province to the Algerian borders.
Hassan Fagaga has further denied the presence in the rebelsÂ’ controlled areas of any elements belonging to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb since Yahia Djouadi, alias Yahia Abu Amar, has succeeded Mokhtar Belmokhtar as the Emir of the ninth region a year ago.
| Mokhtar was pushed aside because he didn't want to be an al-Qaeda, reportedly. When last heard from he was in negotiations for amnesty from the government, which would mean his former comrades were trying to kill him. |
He further made allusion to armed clashes took place with Belmokhtar fellows two years ago as being the last time Al-Qaeda elements had attempted penetrating to areas controlled by the rebels.
| The Tuaregs are a touchy lot. They live in the Sahara, so it's hard to get more austere than they are, so they're not real impressed by Salafism. |
However, Lieutenant Colonel Fagaga has not denied the presence of GSPC elements on the Malian territories, saying: “we do acquire information disclosing the infiltration of some of them to villages near Kidal region in the north.” Fagaga has further reiterated the will of his Movement continuing chasing off Al-Qaeda elements from its areas, saying “we have already told them and we still do telling them go away from our territories and do what you want.”
| "And don't let us catch you sniffin' around our wimmin, dammit!" |
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