AQIM groups in Mali in Kidal - Says Fagaga

Colonel Hassan Fagaga - Commader of Tuareg Rebels in Mali, claims to be keeping out al Qaeda (AQIM) groups trying to infiltrate from Algeria, but aknowledges that there are AQIM groups elsewhere in Niger...

See the following article..

-Shimron

Malian Tuareg rebels’ military commandant, Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Fagaga:“We will eliminate any of Al-Qaeda elements on our controlled areas”

The military commandant of the Tuareg rebels in Mali, Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Fagaga has threatened eliminating elements belonging to Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, GSPC activating in the Sahara, [renamed AQIM] in case attempting approaching areas being controlled by the rebels, southern the Algerian borders.

• Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Fagaga told El Khabar in a phone call yesterday [05-03-08], the rebels have managed intercepting movements of GSPC elements, converted into Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, inside Mali and Kidal region, the nearest Malian province to the Algerian borders
• Hassan Fagaga has further denied the presence in the rebels’ controlled areas of any elements belonging to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb since Yahia Djouadi, alias Yahia Abu Amar, has succeeded Mokhtar Belm ElKhabarokhtar as the Emir of the ninth region a year ago.
• He further made allusion to armed clashes took place with Belmokhtar fellows two years ago as being the last time Al-Qaeda elements had attempted penetrating to areas controlled by the rebels.
• However, Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Fagaga has not denied the presence of GSPC elements on the Malian territories, saying: “we do acquire information disclosing the infiltration of some of them to villages near Kidal region in the north.”
• Fagaga has further reiterated the will of his Movement continuing chasing off Al-Qaeda elements from its areas, saying “we have already told them and we still do telling them go away from our territories and do what you want.”

06-03-2008By A.K/ Translation A.A

The Rest @El Khabar