Terrorism: Ahmed Adimi, Expert in security affairs, to Echorouk: “USA and France refuse elimination of Al Qaeda from the Sahel region”

Expert in security matter, Ahmed Adimi, said many of the major international powers do not want stability for the Sahel region for geostrategic and economic reasons, and because these African regions are rich with natural resources like uranium and oil.

• Expert Ahmed Adimi told Echorouk that the major problem which blocked efforts of the Sahel countries and Algeria, is the vastness of the region that sits on an area of five million km2, making it among the largest and most dangerous open areas of the World, where local, regional and international conflicts and interests.
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• “There are sincere and serious intentions in coordinating efforts to protect the region, especially by Algeria, which has worked to coordinate with Mali and Niger and some other countries, since the nineties, and reached an agreement, according to testimonies by the former Malian defence Minister, who asserted personally that those efforts are positive, but cut by the intervention of Libyan authorities in the context of what is known as the file of “Sahel and Sahara”, he says.
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• “Things developed in the negative way, allowing intervention of foreign powers, especially USA and France, which track whereabouts of terrorist groups in order to take them as a pretext for military presence and control wealth and natural resources indirectly”, he adds.
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• “The current situation in the region is dangerous because USA insists on military presence in the African Sahel region under the pretext of protecting countries from terrorism but for other reasons that have no relation to the fight against terrorism and organized crime. USA is convinced, more than other countries, that military presence in the Sahel region or in any other regions of the world is the reason that feeds terrorism that finds a real argument for its presence, on the pretext of resistance against occupation. However, USASahel region at any price, because it has very precise geological data via satellites and various means of modern technology, as it is also sure about the existence of huge quantities of natural resources like uranium and oil. Washington also knows that the future of its security is related to energy reserves in Africa”, he explains. insisted on being present in the
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• “Elimination of terrorist groups, especially AQIM is not something impossible. Troops can eliminate them only in six months, but after one condition, USA, France and other western countries should provide necessary assistance and technologies including satellites that depict every nook and cranny in this large desert. There are formal requests given to USA and other western countries, but they refused to provide technical assistance to Algeria, which defend vigorously the proposal to create a strong African union away from direct military intervention by France and USA. Those two countries refuse to provide necessary technical assistance because they do not want stability and security for the Sahel region”.