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Latest update: 27/10/2010
Bin Laden targets France, blasts burqa ban and Afghan war
In an audio tape aired on Al Jazeera Wednesday, al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden
targeted French citizens claiming the country's burqa ban and the presence of
French troops in Afghanistan justified the killing of French citizens.
By Leela JACINTO (text)
In what appears to be his first message specifically targeting France, al Qaeda
chief Osama bin Laden threatened to kill French citizens and attack French
interests in retaliation for the country's policies regarding Muslims in a
purported audio statement aired Wednesday on Al Jazeera TV station.
The latest bin Laden message specifically mentioned the recent French moves to
ban the burqa and said it justified violence against French people.
"As you wrongly have decided that you have the right to ban Muslim women from
wearing the veil, is it not our right to expel your invading men by attacking
them?" bin Laden asked.
*
Key figures in al Qaeda's North African branch
TERRORISM
Key figures in al Qaeda's North African branch
Speaking to FRANCE 24, Mathieu Guidere, an expert on North African radical
groups and author of "The New Terrorists," said the latest message marked the
first time bin Laden has specifically targeted his message at the French people.
"In the past, France has been mentioned with other Western countries such as
the US, Great Britain and Germany," said Guidere, referring to previous bin
Laden message. "This is the first time France is specifically targeted."
There has been no official French confirmation on the authenticity of
Wednesday's message yet.
The message, bearing the as-Sahab imprint, which is the media arm linked with
al Qaeda's top leadership, said the September kidnapping of French nationals in
Niger was in retaliation for "the tyranny" France "practices against our Muslim
nation."
Seven foreign nationals including five French citizens were kidnapped in a
uranium-mining town in the northern African nation of Niger last month.
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the terror group's North Africa branch,
has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.
Bin Laden calls for withdrawal of French troops in Afghanistan
The September kidnapping marked an escalation of threats by AQIM against France
in the Sahel region, a remote transition belt between the Sahara desert and the
African savannah that straddles several national borders.
In his latest message, bin Laden called on France to stop its long-standing
involvement in North and West Africa.
"How could it be fair that you intervene in the affairs of Muslims, in North
and West Africa in particular, support your proxies [agents] against us, and
take a lot of our wealth in suspicious deals, while our people there suffer
various forms of poverty and despair?" he asked.
*
Exclusive footage gives rare insight into life in al Qaeda insurgency
NORTH AFRICA
Exclusive footage gives rare insight into life in al Qaeda insurgency
Bin Laden also warned that the presence of French troops in Afghanistan posed a
threat to French security.
"The way to preserve your security is to end all aspects of your injustices
against our Muslim nation, the most important of which is for you to withdraw
from (former US president George W.) Bush's loathed war in Afghanistan," bin
Laden said.
"How could you take part in occupying our countries and support the Americans
in killing our children and women, and then expect to live in peace and
security?" he asked.
In recent weeks, France has been on a terror alert as the governments of
Britain and France issued travel warnings due to security concerns in Western
Europe.
Responding to the purported bin Laden tape Wednesday, French Interior Minister
Brice Hortefeux said the message, if authentic, justified the maintenance of
the current terror threat level.
Despite the recent terror threats, France has maintained its current threat
setting, which is the second highest level.
Close links between AQIM and al Qaeda central command
According to Guidere, bin Laden's latest message was a sign of close
cooperation between AQIM and senior al Qaeda leaders based in the
Afghanistan-Pakistan region, which experts refer to as al Qaeda central command.
"The implication of this message is it that it means the connection between
AQIM and al Qaeda central command is close and that AQIM is building the same
ideology and modus operandi as al Qaeda central command," said Guidere.
AQIM was born out of the remnants of Algerian Islamist groups that waged a
bloody insurgency against the Algerian security services in the 1990s. In 2006,
the Algerian radical group, the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (known
by its French acronym GSPC) officially declared its merger with al Qaeda to
become the terror group's North African affiliate.
"Until recently, AQIM was not interested in global jihad, they had a more local
focus," explained Guidere. "The group is gaining in notoriety and I think this
is related to the rise of Abou Zeid in the southern region."
AQIM is loosely comprised of a cluster of "katibas" of brigades, many of them
autonomously funded and run.
Experts say AQIM northern katiba is headed by Abdelmalek Droukdel, who is
believed to be in Algeria.
The southern katiba is headed by Abdelhamid Abou Zeid, a hardliner believed to
be responsible for last year's execution of British tourist Edwin Dyer and
French aid worker Michel Germaneau.
According to Guidere, Droukdel and Abou Zeid share the same background since
the two men participated in the brutal 1990s Algerian civil war. "But Abou Zeid
is more interested in global terrorism," explained Guidere. "He is more radical
and more religious."
Guidere conculded by stating that Wednesday's message by bin Laden was a
confirmation of the very real terror threats now facing France.
------------------------------------
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