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| Africa: North |
| Mauritanian opposition condemns attacks |
| 2005-06-06 |
| Mauritania's opposition leaders, including jailed Islamists, condemned on Monday the killing of 15 soldiers at the weekend which the government has blamed on an Algerian fundamentalist group allied to al Qaeda. Defence Minister Baba Ould Sidi said late on Sunday the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) was behind a dawn attack on a remote military post in northeast Mauritania on Saturday. In a statement, a group of jailed Islamists, who were arrested at the end of April and accused of links with the GSPC, said they were saddened by the deaths of the soldiers. Another group of 15 Islamic opponents, who have been in hiding since authorities launched the latest wave of arrests, denounced the killings as a "heinous crime". "We consider that Islam has nothing to do with this kind of act," said the statement by the 15 activists. "We affirm that our disagreement with the regime ... does not change the peaceful nature of our actions," it said. Opposition parties met the prime minister on Monday and also expressed their condemnation. The attack took place in the village of Limgheiti, not far from the border with Mali and Algeria. The defence minister said 15 Mauritanian soldiers were killed, 17 more were wounded and two were missing. Five of the 150 attackers were also killed. The desert triangle between the three countries is a haven for smugglers and bandits. The United States says it is also a training ground for Islamist recruits. Mauritanian troops were put on maximum alert, military sources said, and the army sent reinforcements to the area. Residents in Zouerat, a town 400 km (250 miles) to the west of Limgheiti from where some of the soldiers came, said relatives had gone to the local military barracks to seek information about their loved ones. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |