Four Saharan states open joint anti-Qaida military base in Algeria
English.news.cn 2010-04-21 23:51:29 FeedbackPrintRSS

ALGIERS, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Four Saharan countries are opening a joint command headquarters in southern Algeria in a bid to untie efforts against terrorism and a growing threat of al- Qaida's North Africa branch.

The command headquarters for Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger is being officially inaugurated Wednesday in the town of Tamanrasset, in the Saharan desert about 2,000 km south of the Algerian capital Algiers, a statement by the Algerian Defense Ministry said.

The joint command aims to oversee the intelligence and military cooperation between the Saharan countries in operations against terrorism, kidnappings and trafficking, the statement said. However, it did not give details about the capabilities of the command or the powers it would have.

The announcement came eight days after a meeting that brought together top military officials from seven African Sahel-Sahara countries to discuss how to activate agreements they reached last month to confront the al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)'s threat.

The meeting had built up on a gathering of foreign ministers and representatives from the seven countries in the Algerian capital to explore means of joining hands in combating terrorism and transnational crimes in order to sustain stability and development.

Al-Qaida in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has been recently very active across the North African countries, kidnapping a number of foreigners, and carrying out many attacks on the security forces of Algeria, Mali and Mauritania. Transnational crimes including drug and arms smuggling were also rampant, threatening security and stability of the countries in the region.

The AQIM insurgents drew international focus when they kidnapped a number of Westerners last year and used them as a bargain tool to see their demands met. The group is believed to be holding two Spanish aid workers kidnapped in Mauritania last November. An Italian couple kidnapped in the same country a month later were last week freed in Mali.

They also killed a British national they kidnapped on the border between Niger and Mali and claimed responsibility for killing a U.S. aid worker in Nouakchott last June.

The militants also threatened to kill a French man they held hostage on Nov. 25 before letting him go last month only after the Malian government freed four al-Qaida militants whose release was set by their comrades as a condition in return for sparing the hostage's life.

The move angered Algeria and Mauritania which recalled their ambassadors in Bamako, capital city of Mali, in protest. Mali said the four suspects were sentenced to imprisonment terms that they had already spent in jail, opening the door for their release.

Algeria per se has faced an increasing threat by Islamist militants since 1990s, and security forces have recently stepped up military operations against pro-al-Qaida groups.
Editor: yan