|
UN sez al-Qaeda's set up bases across Africa
Al Qaeda has opened recruiting and training bases in Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda, the United Nations said Tuesday in a report that warned the terror group's attacks should be expected to increase.The report was written by terrorism experts appointed by the Security Council to monitor sanctions against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, the regime of radical Muslim clerics that had run Afghanistan until a U.S.-led coalition ousted them in 2001. UN sanctions require all 191 UN member nations to impose a travel ban and arms embargo against a list of those linked to Osama bin Laden's terror network and the former Afghan rulers. Members are also required to freeze the financial assets of those on the list, which includes more than 430 individuals and groups. Terrorism involving Al Qaeda and weapons of mass destruction remains among the paramount global threats, the report said. Al Qaeda wants chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, and it is only "a matter of time" before a successful attack occurs using such weapons, the report said. "The biggest fear we all have is terrorists getting hold of the means to cause a mass attack," said Richard Barrett, a British intelligence expert who is the team's coordinator. "Al Qaeda is a phenomenon that observes no borders. It is even harder to track now than it was a year or two ago when it had a more coherent structure." The report said Al Qaeda is looking for "new areas to expand" and has established bases in "poorly policed" areas of sub-Saharan Africa. They are present there. The security forces of those countries agree with that," Barrett said of Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-02-17 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=56687 |