There have been several, albeit mostly vague, reports and local
chatter about how Mauritania is becoming a meeting place for most of
the increasing number of groups and factions contesting the future of
the Azawad region of Mali.
In addition to the almost 100,000 refugees from Mali still in
Mauritania (see below), representatives of Tuareg and Arab communities
and groups from Azawad, representatives and members of many of the
terrorist/Islamist organisations and Azawadian political movements, as
well as politically influential Malians, are using Mauritania as a safe
haven in which to meet and discuss their strategies for the
future of both Azawad and Mali as a whole.
For the moment, this situation has not yet threatened
instability in Mauritania. But it certainly has the potential to do so,
not simply because of the distinct possibility of renewed fighting or
at least skirmishing between these many groups, but also because there
are signs that many of the Islamists that have been driven out
of Mali by the Franco-Chadian forces may seek a new haven in
Mauritania.
This is a threat faced by many other countries in the region,
notably Niger, Burkina Faso and Libya, but it is probably greatest in
Mauritania because of its many sympathetic Salafist strands
and the links that Mauritania already has with these Islamists
groups (notably AQIM and MUJAO).
Two names which have been mentioned within some concern within
this context are Henoune Ould Ali and Amar Ould Hamaha. Ould Ali, from
a small Arab tribe linked to the Berabich, is a wealthy trader believed
to be a significant financier of MUJAO. Ould Hamaha, generally known as
“Red Beard” in the Malian press, was prominent in both AQIM and MUJAO,
and believed to be responsible for many of the atrocities
committed by the Islamists in Timbuktu before creating Ansar Shari'a.
For more news and expert analysis about Mauritania, please see Mauritania Politics & Security.
© 2013 Menas Associates
No comments:
Post a Comment