Agh Said to Echourouk: AQIM backed the Movement of Unification to dislodge the MNLA

The member of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad ( MNLA) Moussa Agh Said has revealed that more than 30 four- wheel drive cars laden with terrorists from Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb have joined the Movement of Fight and Unification in West Africa.

The aim of the operation is to dislodge the MNLA from the region and hold sway on the entirety of northern Mali, which proves the close relationships between this movement and AQIM , he said.
Agh Said has indicated that the Azawad tribes look forward to a peaceful life but the terrorist groups want to control the whole region and dislodge all their opponents. The Movement of Unification is currently based in the region of Minaka and the neighboring areas where they wage battles against the Azawad, he went on saying.
Replying to a question over the exact number of Azawad fighters as well as the quantity of weapons they own, Agh Said has declared not knowing the exact number, noting that the weapons used by this group have been retrieved from the Malian regular forces during the attacks that carried out between January 17 and April 2012.
In a communiqué shown to Echouorouk, the Azawad movement has revealed that members from AQIM headed toward the regions of Gao and Minaka to back elements from the Movement of Unification.
The Azawad movement has yesterday revealed that its forces have clashed with terrorists and drug smugglers affiliated to the Movement of Unification backed by AQIM in the region of Minaka.
10 terrorists were killed and dozens others injured during the operation, putting the death toll among the Movement of Unification to 60 over two days, while 4 memebers from the Azawad were injured and one killed, Agh Said indicated .