Tuareg rebels in Mali's northern desert have vowed to chase the Algerian terror group Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which is linked to al-Qaeda, off their territory and will seek support from Algeria to do so. GSPC is believed to be recruiting members around West Africa and training them in mobile camps in the Sahara. As the GSPC spread its operations into Mali, they have come into contact with Tuareg nomads who have controlled the Sahara's ancient trading routes for generations.
The Tuareg, who fought insurgencies against black African-dominated governments in Mali and Niger, rely heavily on smuggling and banditry for their survival and fear GSPC will bring them unwanted attention. "We can't put things off any longer. We can't negotiate with them any more on their presence in our zone. All that is over. We are at war," said Eglasse Ag Idar, a spokesman for Tuareg rebel group Democratic Alliance for Change.
The Tuareg's war footing against GSPC gives them a rare common cause both with the Malian government and the U.S., which has been training armies around West Africa to combat such groups. Algeria has in the past rallied behind the Tuareg cause, helping to broker peace deals with the Malian government, and Ag Idar said the Tuaregs would meet with Algerian military and political officials in the coming days to ask for support.
Algeria had an important motive in helping the Tuaregs, a U.S. official said, because the GSPC were using their Malian network to smuggle arms and supplies towards Algiers, where near-simultaneous truck bomb attacks on two police stations killed three people, including two soldiers on Monday.
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