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| Africa North |
| Al-Qaeda leader El-Abbes surrenders in Algeria |
| 2010-06-03 |
| [Maghrebia] n the latest in a string of damaging defections from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), one of its most senior leaders in Algeria, Abou El-Abbes, surrendered to security forces on Tuesday (May 25th). El-Abbes (real name Othmane Touati) was a member of the Council of Notables (Majles al-Ayan), AQIM's central decision-making body, and the right-hand man of AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel. "The surrender was made possible through the assistance of his wife, who managed to convince her husband to abandon the criminal horde and return to his family", an unnamed security source told APS. The day after his surrender, El Abbes spoke to authorities about "the problems that armed groups are facing in the bush". He said that terrorists face difficult living conditions following Algerian army sweeps, as well as a lack of religious authority to legitimise suicide attacks, kidnappings and other terrorist activity, according to the daily newspaper Echourouk. El-Abbes, who also served as AQIM mufti and judge, joined the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) in 1993 before forging an alliance with Hassan Hattab. Together, they engineered the creation of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. With Abdelhamid Sadaoui, a former leader of the group who was born in the same village and has since been killed, he controlled the Centre-East region before being asked by Droukdel to take charge of legislative affairs. Most recently, he was responsible for co-ordinating terrorist acts in Boumerdes, Tizi-Ouzou and Bouira provinces. Analysts quoted in local press reports said the defection resulted from security operations, which have combined military pressure with efforts to encourage former terrorists such as Hattab to convince the families of active terrorists to persuade them to renounce violence. However, Echourouk quoted El-Abbas as saying that it was the lack of attacks over the past few months that led to this situation. El-Abbes also was quoted as saying that many AQIM members want to surrender due to the loss of all public support, as well as a shortage of new recruits. El-Abbes said that to cope with the shortfall, AQIM is recruiting mercenaries to re-start its terrorist campaign. He also mentioned recent calls by certain supporters for jihad to be justified so that their terrorist activity can continue and suicide bombings can be resumed. The pressure exerted by former GSPC members, religious scholars and certain theologians has hindered AQIM leaders' work, particularly recruitment, said the analysts. The analysts cited recent fatwas issued by religious scholars and theologians that challenge the concept of jihad in Algeria and condemn AQIM attacks. They said that such fatwas have destabilised AQIM, a point that Abou El-Abbas confirmed in his comments to Echourouk. Faced with this destabilisation, Droukdel appealed to the mufti of Al-Qaeda, who is known as the "spiritual father" of global jihad, Mohamed Maqdissi. However, the analysts said, Droukdel received no reply to his request that Maqdissi legitimise suicide bombings. El-Abbes' surrender marks the latest in a series of defections from al-Qaeda. Another terrorist, Grig-Ahsine Abdelhalim, turned himself in the same day as El-Abbes. The Algiers native joined the GSPC in 1994 after escaping from Batna's Tazoult prison. AQIM medical committee head Mokadem Lounis, aka Abou Naamane, surrendered in mid-April, as did former El-Farouk brigade emir Ahmed Mansouri Ahmed, aka Abdeldjebbar. One counterterrorism officer downplayed El-Abbes' surrender, saying on condition of anonymity, "It's not like it was an emir like [southern zone commander] Abu Zeid." "However, this surrender will certainly help security services," the officer conceded. |
| Posted by:Fred |