A welcome show of spine. “France and Mauritania raid Al-Qaeda kidnap gang,” from AFP, July 23 (thanks to Maxwell): NOUAKCHOTT — French-backed Mauritanian forces attacked and killed six members of an Al-Qaeda affiliated gang allegedly holding a French hostage in the North African desert, officials said Friday. The French defence ministry said the group was […]
Mauritania: Black students at Nouakchott University complain of “Arabisation”
As Hugh Fitzgerald has often noted here, Islam is a vehicle for Arab supremacism. The centrality given to Arabic, such that prayers cannot be offered and the Qur’an not properly recited in any other language, has led historically to clashes between Arab and non-Arab Muslims, with the former having a decided sense of superiority. “Negro-Mauritanians […]
Jihadists coming from Africa to Iraq
“Terrorists in Iraq seen from Africa,” from UPI, : Military officials say close to a quarter of foreign fighters captured in Iraq come from northern Africa, validating fears that ungoverned swaths of the continent are serving as both a pipeline and safe haven for Islamist radicals. According to a June 17 statement from a U.S. […]
Canadian Report: West Africa is Terror Hotbed
From our Stop the Presses Department and UPI, “Analysis: W. Africa may be terror hotbed” Washington, DC — A newly declassified Canadian intelligence report warns that West Africa is breeding a militant Islamist threat with “significant potential” for growth for groups such as Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service brief, which […]
Al Qaeda’s Growing Sanctuary
West Africa, as we have often noted here, is increasingly becoming a safe haven for radical Muslims. From the Washington Post, : With the end of the brutal conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone, West Africa is seldom in the news or on the policy agenda these days. Yet the region is quietly gaining recognition […]
Al-Qaida may head to jungles of Africa
More on the African jihad. From AP, : Squeezed out of sanctuaries elsewhere in the world, al-Qaida may be looking to the deserts and jungles of Africa as a haven where terrorists could train recruits and plan new attacks, the deputy head of U.S. forces in Europe said Friday. Key among U.S. military proposals to […]