[Maghrebia] Three Spanish aid workers kidnapped in Mauritania on November 29th are believed to have been moved from Mauritania, and the incident may have scuppered the possibility of talks between imprisoned Salafists and the government. The aid workers were kidnapped by three foreign mercenaries working for the al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and are "no longer on Mauritanian soil", a source with Mauritania's security forces, who asked to remain anonymous, told Magharebia on Wednesday.
The victims, Albert Vilalta, Alicia Gamez, and Roque Pascual, may be hostages in AQIM camps in northern Mali, added the source.
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz on Wednesday dismissed the national chief of police, who was responsible for security on the road near the northern city of Nouadhibou where the incident occurred.
The three victims, all employees of the Barcelona-based NGO Accio Solidaria, were bringing up the rear of a 13-vehicle aid caravan when it was stopped by masked men who opened fire from their Land Rover.
"I heard my colleagues who were in one of the vehicles, and I was talking to Roque Pascual, who said 'Soldiers ... soldiers ... machine guns ... machine guns!'" one caravan member told Reuters after the attack. "We found the vehicle, but without any passengers, and all of their money and possessions were there."
Since the kidnappings, Mauritania "has taken all the necessary measures and precautions to deal with the crisis in a suitable manner," Spain's ambassador in Mauritania, Alonso Dezcallar, said during a press conference on Tuesday in Nouakchott. "In addition, the Spanish authorities are satisfied with ... the way Nouakchott is dealing with the crisis, especially with regard to ensuring the safety of hostages".
Following the incident, Mauritania declared a state of maximum alert and sent anti-terrorism units to its desert borders to seal off all outlets for the kidnappers. The borders with Mali, Algeria and Morocco were closed.
The kidnappings came right as Mauritanian authorities were considering talks with Salafist prisoners.
Last week, Minister of Justice Maître Baha Ould Ameida and the head of the National Guard, Maskar Ould Sayyid, visited Nouakchott's prison to meet with Salafist leaders. The jail houses Khedime Ould Semane, Marouv Ould Heibe, Sidi Ould Sidine, and more than 70 other inmates allegedly belonging to a Salafist movement dating back to the mid-1990s.
The Mauritanian Salafists used Osama Ben Laden's tapes and recordings by Afghan and Chechen fighters as their ideological reference points. Elements of the movement joined Algeria's Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) in aligning with al-Qaeda in late 2006, mounting attacks from Malian and Algerian desert strongholds that have killed dozens of soldiers and four French tourists.
A group of Salafist prisoners recently called for dialogue, declaring their rejection of violence and their desire to contribute to the "establishment of peace and security both inside and outside the country". The group called on authorities to forgive them and to open talks to "resolve the Salafist issue". On November 23rd, 25 prisoners issued a signed document calling for an end to violence and declaring their withdrawal from the Salafist movement.
Prisoner Mohammed Ould Ahmed, one of the most prominent figures in Mauritanian Salafism, stressed the need to "stop the bloodshed and this tarnishing of the image of Islam" through "linking it to violence, which will not achieve any goals".
However, analysts believe the latest violence may derail attempts to set up a dialogue.
"I think that this kidnapping of the Spanish nationals will impede the efforts aimed at making some ideological reviews which were started by some Salafists inside the prison," Mohammed Ould Al Mustaf, a writer and researcher, told Magharebia. "The government will also be preoccupied with security matters rather than dialogue."
Another analyst, Khalil Ould Mohammed, told Magharebia that after this "painful" incident, "the government will not trust -- at least in the short term -- Salafists' promises to reject violence and extremism".
"[The government] will focus on combating terrorism using security methods rather than dialogue," said Mohammed. "So we're waiting for a new security policy whose features are born out of the kidnapping" of the Spanish aid workers.
Many ordinary Mauritanians have condemned the kidnappings. Nouadhibou resident Waled Ould Ahmed told Magharebia that the Spaniards "came to Mauritania to help its people through humanitarian aid work".
"They deserve appreciation and respect rather than kidnapping and torture," said Ahmed. "I was greatly saddened by this unethical and bizarre act."