Terrorism – Polisario separatists reported active among Al-Qaeda in the Sahel region (BCIJ)
The director of Morocco’s Central Bureau for Judicial Research (BCIJ), Cherkaoui Habboub, revealed that several “Polisario” separatists are currently active within Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), stressing that this consistent finding indicates the affiliation of more than 100 separatists to small terrorist groups, deemed loyal to Al-Qaeda and ISIS in the Greater Sahara (ISGS).
“It has been proven that Tindouf camps have turned into a suitable ground for radical ideologies, in a way that represents serious threats to Morocco and other countries all along the Sahel”, Habboub stated to “Jeune Afrique” magazine, pointing that regional security cooperation stands as an indispensable condition for eliminating such threats.
“We have deep regrets over the lack of security cooperation with Algeria”, he added.
+ A hundred separatists involved in the Sahel terror +
Habboub also noted that the situation is quite dangerous, in a way that jeopardizes the efforts made by several countries in the region in order to confront such threats, highlighting that the Sahel region represents a great danger and a major security challenge for Morocco and its neighbouring countries.
“Upon their defeats in Afghanistan and Syria, both terrorist organizations, namely Al Qaeda and ISIS, switched their focus into the Sahel region,” the Moroccan Security Official said; “Nowadays, several terrorist organizations are deemed active in the said area, including those affiliated to Al-Qaeda and ISIS”, he added.
“Al-Qaeda and ISIS affiliated organizations within the Sahel region also feature the so-called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara, led by Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, who is a former Polisario militant born in Laayoune”, Habboub indicated, stressing that the latter was held responsible for a series of terrorist attacks in the region between 2016 and 2020, upon which, the US decided to offer a reward worth 5 million dollars for anyone likely to provide relevant information on the ISGS leader.
Within the same context, Habboub revealed that over 1654 Moroccan individuals have joined several terrorist groups affiliated to the Islamic State since its emergence in 2014, and that they have received training in the manufacture of explosives and the preparation of deadly poisons, stressing that Morocco is fully committed to fighting these groups as part of the international coalition against terrorism, subject to emergence as of September 11 attacks.
