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West faces ‘decades’ of conflict in N Africa
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by the lioness,: [QB] The new Afghanistan for France? The U.S.- and Western-trained Malian army, however, has failed miserably against the Islamists during the past year, and with the French intervention there is little time left for training. [IMG]http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/USATODAY/WiresImages/2013/01/20/4e0c08710fd8db02260f6a70670013f6-4_3_r536_c534.jpg?1b79b3da202957124496e3768cfb7b67cdb10c81[/IMG] Mokhtar Belmokhtar an Algerian in his 40s known in Pentagon circles as "MBM," just split off from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, to start his own franchise. [IMG]http://www.gistmania.com/talk/?action=dlattach&topic=107676.0&attach=38325&image[/IMG] Interim Mali president Dioncounda Traoré Over the past decade, AQIM has kidnapped dozens of foreigners, including diplomats, aid workers, field doctors and tourists. Belmokhtar prefers to trade his hostages for money, experts have said, and global intelligence unit Stratfor says he can get an estimated $3 million per European captive. The money allowed him to build one of the best-financed cells of al-Qaeda. It may explain how he was able to strike out on his own six weeks ago to create "The Masked Brigade," whose inaugural attack was launched inside Algeria. They have chosen to embed themselves in northern Mali, in the immense, ungoverned desert which ranges from feather-soft dunes to flat, rocky plains. And both have made tens of millions of dollars by kidnapping French, Canadian, Spanish, Swiss, German, English and Italian nationals. Omar Ould Hamaha, served as Ansar Dine's spokesman after April 2012, became the military leader of the AQIM-affiliated Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MOJWA) in August 2012. [IMG]http://cachx.maliweb.net/wp-content/news/images/2012/07/Oumar-Ould-Hamaha.jpg?36c320[/IMG] Omar Ould Hamaha Ansar Dine led by Islamicst Toureg Iyad Ag Ghaly, has taken control of the major towns in North Mali and has recently taken Konna. Mali is about twice the size of France. Ansar Dine are seasoned desert fighters fighting in their own territory. Ansar Dine and Mujao have expanded the rebellion beyond the Tuaregs by incorporating a number of other ethnic groups like the Bella and Songhai (who have historically opposed the Tuareg) into a multi-ethnic force, motivated by religious fervour. [IMG]http://therevealer.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/iyad-ag-ghaly.jpg[/IMG] Iyad Ag Ghaly. leader of Tuareg jihadist group Ansar Dine Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9qOf877z1U [b]West faces ‘decades’ of conflict in N Africa[/b] By Heba Saleh in Cairo and Kiran Stacey in London David Cameron has raised the spectre of Britain being sucked into the fight against terrorists in north Africa for “decades” after the Algerian hostage crisis ended with more than 80 reportedly dead. The UK prime minister said on Sunday that the growing threat of Islamist militants in the Sahel region of Africa required “a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months”. High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9ff31414-632a-11e2-8497-00144feab49a.html#ixzz2IdvqBVgG He compared the situation with that in Afghanistan, saying: “What we face is an extremist, Islamist, violent al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group, just as we had to deal with in Pakistan and Afghanistan.” High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9ff31414-632a-11e2-8497-00144feab49a.html#ixzz2Idvvv0AX British officials said the government’s response to threats in countries such as Algeria and Mali, where the UK is supporting French efforts to expel Islamist rebels, would mainly focus on attempts to strengthen governments and promote dialogue. But they added that British troops could be forced to take direct action against the growing threat of Islamist militants. William Hague, British foreign secretary, said it was a “complete illusion” to think the UK was “omnipotent” and able to prevent problems in west Africa. “There is no perfect answer,” he told the BBC’s Today radio programme on Monday morning. Mr Hague compared the situation in Mali with Somalia where he said progress had been made because of a combination of strong African forces, funded by the EU and backed by UN humanitarian and diplomatic support. A total of 37 foreign hostages were killed during the siege, Algeria’s prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal said on Monday. He said the attackers came from Egypt, Canada, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Tunisia. Three kidnappers were captured and 32 killed, said Mr Sellal. Local newspapers quoting unnamed security forces reported on Sunday that up to 30 bodies had been found at the sprawling gas complex which was being combed for explosives. Ten Japanese and five Norwegians were among those unaccounted for at the plant, which is operated by the UK’s BP, Norway’s Statoil and Algeria’s Sonatrach. On Monday the Philippine foreign affairs ministry said six of its nationals were among those killed in the siege, while four are reportedly still missing. Two Malaysians are still unaccounted for, AP said. The first British fatality has been named by the Foreign Office as Paul Thomas Morgan, aged 46. It was unclear which company Morgan had been working for. Three other British nationals are still missing. Mr Cameron said the UK must “work with others to defeat the terrorists and to close down the ungoverned space where they thrive with all the means that we have”. He said the threat would “require a response that is about years, even decades, rather than months, and . . . that is patient, that is painstaking, that is tough but also intelligent”. High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9ff31414-632a-11e2-8497-00144feab49a.html#ixzz2Idw3WGiu He said he would use Britain’s chairmanship of the G8 this year to ensure that the issue is “right at the top of the agenda”. In line with other western leaders, Mr Cameron refrained from criticising the Algerian authorities who mounted a final military assault on the facility on Saturday two days after their helicopters shelled vehicles in which the attackers had loaded hostages, causing many deaths. He did not repeat the “disappointment” he expressed on Friday over the decision to launch an attack on the hostage takers without his prior knowledge. Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said: “It’s easy to say that this or that should have been done. The Algerian authorities took a decision and the toll is very high but I am a bit bothered . . . when the impression is given that the Algerians are open to question. They had to deal with terrorists.” Algerian officials said the army decided to storm the gas facility only when it became clear the militants had killed the remaining seven hostages they held and were planning to blow up the site. François Hollande, the French president, said Algeria’s tactics were “the most adapted response to the crisis” and that there could be no negotiations with terrorists. An escaped British worker, Alan Wright, told ITV News he and his colleagues hid in an office when they heard sustained gunfire. They stuck pieces of paper to the windows of the room so the militants could not see inside and after about 24 hours, his Algerian colleagues decided to attempt an escape. Disguising him as a local worker, they cut a hole in the perimeter fence and ran into the desert where they came across members of the Algerian military. The kidnappers calling themselves “Those Who Sign In Blood’’ – part of an al-Qaeda splinter group led by the veteran jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar – initially claimed the attack was in retaliation for France’s military campaign in Mali. They reiterated this claim on Sunday, according to the Mauritanian news website Sahara Media. It cited a video, showing Mr Belmokhtar saying: “We in al-Qaeda announce this blessed operation,” adding: “We are ready to negotiate with the west and the Algerian government provided they stop their bombing of Mali’s Muslims.” Sahara Media did not display the video itself on its site and it was not immediately possible to verify the information. Additional reporting by Hannah Kuchler Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013. Algeria hostage crisis: Most weapons used in attack came from Libya Most of the weapons used by al Qaeda-linked militants to storm a gas facility in southeastern Algeria came from Libya, the Daily Telegraph has learned. By Mélanie Matarese, Algiers8:50PM GMT 20 Jan 2013 Many of the Islamist terrorists shot their way into the In Amenas compound on Thursday using the AK104 model of Kalashnikov, which was typically used by Libyan rebels in the war against Muammar Gaddafi. They brought F5 rockets that also surfaced in the Libyan war, said the security source. The Islamists wore the same type of outfits that Qatar provided to Libyan National Transitional Council rebels by Qatar – yellow flak jackets with brown patches, known as "chocolate chip" camouflage. The garments are copies of ones worn by Americans in the Gulf war. The terrorists also employed 60mm gun-mortars used by France and Libyan rebels. Other non-Libyan arms used in the Algerian terror attack included German and Chinese-made Kalashnikovs, classic rocket-propelled grenades and Russian offensive and defensive _________________________________________________ this is one of those endless circles, the Islamacists provoke, the West retaliates and invades and the Islamcists say see I told you they occupiers and get more supporters, then the whole thing goes on for years with guerilla warfare like Vietnam [/QB][/QUOTE]
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