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| Africa North |
| Paris and Algiers linked in the fight against AQIM |
| 2010-09-25 |
| [Ennahar] France, targeted by Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), and Algeria, country of origin of Islamic emirs, are linked by their common interest in fighting against terrorism in the Sahel and have always maintained the exchange whatever their differences. "We have intelligence cooperation with our Algerian friends" who are "extremely committed to the fight against terrorism," said Thursday, French Defence Minister Herve Morin. A week after the abduction, claimed by AQIM, of seven people including five French in Niger, France wishes to show how it considers Algeria as a key player. After months of tension, relations between the two countries have improved. "we are in a stable relationship (...): it won't deteriorate more but there are still obstacles," told AFP the president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Assembly Axel Poniatowski. Algeria is still smarting from being registered by France on the list of countries of risk for transport or support of Paris to a Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara. France always accuses Algeria of protectionism following measures penalizing its entreprises. However, The infamous However... several cases have been settled, including the one of an Algerian diplomat recently cleared by French justice to the great satisfaction of Algiers. But even at the height of the crisis, cooperation in the fight against terrorism has never been interrupted, say officials and experts. "What is real is that there is a genuine common interest to cooperate actively in the anti-AQIM fight," Poniatowski said. AQIM was born of an allegiance to Al Qaeda in 2006 of the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat ... now known as al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb... (GSPC) from the Armed Islamic Group (GIA), which in the 90s, had bloodied Algeria and orchestrated attacks in France. "Algeria is a key player. Its advantage is to have AQIM home. In the region, it is the most powerful country, the richest, the greatest," said Jean-Francois Daguzan of Foundation for Strategic Research (FRS). "The Algerian regime has long infiltrated these groups, they has the means to act, a major diplomatic and military experience," confirms Kader Abderrahim of the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS). In addition, "the Algerians did not wait for kidnapping in the Sahel to act on their southern flank," said the researcher, recalling that Algiers "was an important intermediate on the issue of the Tuareg, nomads who roam the vast Sahel-Saharan strip where AQIM operates. For its part, "France has deployed devices in the Sahel countries, notably in Mauritania: it has the means that she can exchange with Algeria," Poniatowski says. This cooperation is also for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika a way to see recognized the "regional leader", says Khadija Mohsen-Finan from the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI). |
| Posted by:Fred |