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Latest update: 08/09/2011
- al Qaeda - Algeria - Libya - Mali - Mauritania - Muammar Gaddafi - Niger
Libya's neighbours fear 'powder keg' scenario
The Sahel desert around Libya has become a "powder keg" following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, regional countries said during a security conference in Algiers Wednesday. There are fears al Qaeda may snap up weapons from Gaddafi's arsenal.
By News Wires (text)
AFP - The Libyan conflict has turned the neighbouring Sahel desert into a powder keg, regional powers said Wednesday in Algiers, as Moamer Kadhafi's arsenal risks being snapped up by Al Qaeda's local franchise.
"The region has been turned into a powder keg," Niger's Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum told counterparts from Algeria, Mali and Mauritania -- the Sahel nations most threatened by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The Sahel security conference, the first of its kind, was decided months ago but convened only days after the toppling of the 42-year-old Libyan regime of Moamer Kadhafi by Western-backed rebels.
Algeria and other Libyan neighbours have expressed fears that the ousted Libyan leader's arsenal and remaining loyalists would be scattered across the Sahel, an eight-million square kilometre desert area south of the Sahara.
Bazoum said half a tonne of Semtex explosives was seized in Niger in June, warning that there may have been more, as well as surface-to-air missiles.
"We don't want the Sahel to become a war zone," Malian Foreign Minister Soumeylou Boubeye said.
He said that reinforcing security was the region's responsibility but added that outside assistance in the fields of surveillance, intelligence and training was needed.
French, American and British delegates speaking at the conference agreed that the military effort should be led by the region.
"We recognise that this effort must be led by the governments of the region," said Shari Villarosa, from the office of the coordinator for counterterrorism at the US state department.
Deadly attacks as well as kidnappings of foreigners claimed by AQIM have already slashed what little revenue some of the world's poorest nations were getting from tourism.
Daniel Benjamin, coordinator for counterterrorism at the US state department, told the Algerian news agency Tuesday that Washington was "taking seriously all reports about weapons falling into the hands of terrorists and we are doing our best to follow up these reports."
Hundreds of former Tuareg rebels from Niger and Mali who had found refuge in Libya in recent years and fought alongside Kadhafi loyalists this year are crossing back into their countries, raising security fears.
While there is no evidence of strong links between pro-Kadhafi fighters and AQIM, observers fear an influx of weapons from Libya could benefit the Al-Qaeda franchise in its desert hideouts.
"The danger is that the combatants returned with weapons. If they have nothing to put in their mouths they will sell these weapons or use them," said Malian political scientist Moussa Diallo.
Other observers argue that has already happened.
The European Union's counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove warned Monday that the chaos in Libya had given AQIM potential access to new weaponry, including "surface-to-air missiles which are extremely dangerous because they pose a risk to flights over the territory."
Since Osama bin Laden's death this year, experts have argued that while "Al-Qaeda Central" was weaker than it has been, its offshoots in Yemen and in North Africa remained potent threats to global security.
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Comments (2)
libya
Once again Britain and France pledge to outsiders forgeting state of own countries;we need the full attention of our so-called leaders,who appear more concerned with interfering in all except us.
Now weapons will end up with terrists from LIBYAN ARSENALS no thought given to security
Friendly suggestion
I assume, no one will be wrong to think that Gaddafi left Libya long ago!
One or two of his sons may be inside the convoy but not himself!
Like an apparently defiant but inside frightened king in disguise and nomadically dressed in real Bedouin outfits but truly Billionaire: Mr. Gaddafi very possibly has been riding on the back of a camel with a very few humble looking loyalists beside him and mentally prepared to head for a long distance against the sand-filled gusty whirlwind with an aim to reach as far as ghastly deep green jungle of Zaire.
I hope, the Western collective intelligence through UK, France, Norway and USA is aware of real scenarios despite what news is being broadcasted before the global public, except the African part by the conditioned Medias.
Mainly Libyan Young Generation practically from studying in U.K. France and USA and observing keenly with the knowledge of historical events have learned the smart secrets of old style politicking.
One has to be a little wiser to understand the true fact that the rebels are just playing a dishonest game of deception, only to make the West in the eyes of global public to look like: "Fools are rushing in where angels fear to tread".
Every human has the right to protect own interests and there is nothing for a human in desperately trying to save own life. Gaddafi's shrewd sons, some African, Asian, Middle Eastern, South-American heads of lands and a part of rebels have jointly made a secret deal to surprise other parts of the world by not letting any Western outsider to handle their oil business but by Libyans themselves only!
If they have a non-violent positive plan, by the grace of God's 50% silent cosmic approval no one will be able to kill them and the world will be able to hear their side of the story. If their story will be based on the truth and nothing but the truth, they'll even earn global public's intuitive type sympathy, no matter what the Medias say and shall survive.
And then if, just like the Arabian Semites are doing for thousands of years, they cannot forget about the good lavish days and sweet memories of Libya's wealth of oil and try to gain negative strengths of gun powers in the shelter of some African Nations backed unseen by a few newly rich Asian powers, all the 'war-machine makers and weapon dealers' will happily be back to their family's old armament-businesses again in full swing and some of them may even contemplate the starting of 3rd World War for big personal gains (Especially If and when some urgently needed possible amended 'year-end deficit-less' free-trade policies shall come into effect).
As long as there is a well balanced peace-loving leader of world leaders such as Obama who do not have any personal or family links with businesses of abhorrently usable profiteering products such as gold, weapon, oil etc. and can easily have positive influence on UN, there will be strong possibility of avoiding Wars that took place between 1914 to 2001, where human collective intelligence of inventions of War machines, toys (like today's digital technology of Microsoft Corp.) has been used in the service of madness (as sometimes too old or too young human brains function) of dysfunctional less-developed brains of some unwise, near sighted World leaders that are responsible for killings of more than one hundred million public world-wide in the above mentioned time period.
In the sense of humanly true Justice, in order to save a single life of only one innocent human, one or more criminals can be set free, pardoned or sent in a labor camps (Have to build in the future for global peace in the changed to be better world) etc.!
Therefore, suspended death sentence for any heinous criminal (from age 12) with condition either to serve in the front line fighting against other criminals or to work like light to heavy exercise in labor camps will be just fine.
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