The African countries of Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger have all signed up for some anti-terror training by the U.S. in an effort to try and repel and control the terrorism brought to the region by al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb. Here's a bit from the article here at Bloomberg:
The U.S. isn't messing around in this region now that the effects of al Qaeda in the region have really shown some effects in Algeria and Somalia. Now, whether these African nations can really be effective is a whole 'nother matter but it's encouraging to see them signing on to the training. I venture to guess that more countries will sign on the line after they've tasted their first attacks from al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb. Who knows, maybe Algeria will even see the light and come to the conclusion that without help, they will be fighting a losing battle.
``The terror groups are constantly on the move; lots of weapons, lots of people cross these borders,'' said Lieutenant Colonel Randall Horton, a planner in Africom's Operation Enduring Freedom-Trans Sahara mission. ``We are working with our partner nations to address these security issues.''
Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger are taking part in the U.S.-sponsored military programs. Africom's mission is to train their forces to roust terrorists and also to control sparsely patrolled borders for arms traffic, drug smuggling and infiltration by violent organizations.
The U.S. isn't messing around in this region now that the effects of al Qaeda in the region have really shown some effects in Algeria and Somalia. Now, whether these African nations can really be effective is a whole 'nother matter but it's encouraging to see them signing on to the training. I venture to guess that more countries will sign on the line after they've tasted their first attacks from al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb. Who knows, maybe Algeria will even see the light and come to the conclusion that without help, they will be fighting a losing battle.
Al-Qaeda Sahara Network Spurs U.S. to Train Chad, Mali Forces
April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Bands of Islamist fighters, terrorist trainers and arms suppliers roaming the mountainous southern Sahara Desert are new targets in the U.S. war against al-Qaeda.
The groups, originally linked to rebels fighting the government of Algeria, operate under the umbrella of Algeria- based al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, U.S. military officials say. AQIM has claimed responsibility for at least six attacks, including a failed attempt to assassinate Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, that have killed more than 100.
The war against AQIM is being led from the new headquarters of the U.S. Army's Africa Command in Stuttgart, Germany, which is due to become fully operational this October with a staff of about 1,000. Africom will provide military aid and training to countries in the southern Sahara, an area known as the Sahel.
The cross-border Sahel AQIM forces travel by Toyota Land Cruisers that rely on a network of underground fuel bunkers. They possess mortars, surface-to-air missiles and equipment needed to construct roadside bombs. The membership may be as low as 150, U.S. officials in Stuttgart say. About 500 more AQIM members are based in Algeria, which, like Morocco, Tunisia and Libya, is part of the Maghreb region.
They get help from nomadic tribes known as the Tuareg, a Berber ethnic group that is in combat with the government of Mali. Drug smuggling helps nourish the Sahel AQIM, say U.S. military officials who speak on condition of anonymity; they say that cocaine from Colombia passes through Venezuela and is sent to Burkina Faso in West Africa and then transported via Algeria and Morocco to Europe.
No comments:
Post a Comment