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| Africa North |
| Algeria cracking down on Al-Qaeda |
| 2007-04-07 |
| Algerian troops backed by helicopter gunships have carried out their biggest offensive in years against armed groups, after a reported increase in attacks. Al Jazeera reported that thousands of troops have been carrying out assaults in the mountains and forests in the east of the country for more than a week. "We are waging the counter-terror fight without let-up," Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the Algerian president, told El Pais, a Spanish daily newspaper, a few days before the military campaign began last month. Newspapers have reported the aim is to kill or arrest fighters behind the attacks, which are said to be linked to Al-Qaeda. Diplomats say the goal of the military operation is to cut ties between Algerian groups and people among North African communities in Europe seeking to attack Western targets. "The time for the hand of friendship policy has reached its limits. I believe there's a shift in the government approach towards giving the fight against insurgents more muscle," Anis Rahmani, a security analyst who edits the Ech-Chorouk daily, said. |
| Posted by:Fred |