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| Africa: North |
| GSPC appoints new supremo |
| 2004-09-06 |
| Algeria's largest Islamic rebel group with ties to al Qaeda said it has appointed a new chief, known as an explosives expert, as it tries to regroup following the loss of key leaders in recent gun battles with authorities. "Thanks to God for the appointment of Abou Mossab Abdelouadoud as the emir of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) to replace martyr Nabil Sahraoui," the GSPC said in an undated statement obtained by Reuters on Monday. Security sources said the information was credible. Security sources say Abdelouadoud, the group's explosives chief whose real name is Abdelmalek Droukdel, is among the few surviving senior members after Sahraoui and others were killed in a battle with Algerian armed forces in June. "He was there from the beginning although he didn't fight in Afghanistan," said a security analyst. "If anyone can unify the GSPC, it's him, but it's already very weakened and divided." Droukdel, born in 1971, studied at university for two years before dropping out to join rebels in the mountains, experts said. He was recently made head of the GSPC's supreme council. The GSPC's No. 2, Amari Saifi, alias Abderrazak el Para and responsible for the kidnappings last year, is being held by Chadian rebels. The GSPC, currently numbering a few hundred, has in recent months stepped up its campaign of violence against the army and police in and east of the capital Algiers. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |