Washington – The crisis in Mali, which was exacerbated by the Touareg rebels and AQIM, stresses the pressing need for finding a solution to the Sahara issue through a settlement that falls within the framework of the changes that took place in the region, Peter Pham, Director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center of the Atlantic Council said on Tuesday in Washington.
Speaking during a conference held by the Moroccan American Center for Policy, Pham pointed out to the interconnection of interest and the collusion between Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and the Polisario.
The expert in the Sahel and Sahara issues explained that AQIM has been recruiting polisario members to carry out kidnappings for ransom targeting western nationals.
Pham cited Omar Ould Sid Ahmed Ould Hama, known as “Omar the Sahraoui” as an example of the polisario members who joined AQIM and took part in abductions of western nationals in the Sahel.
He also recalled the kidnapping last October by AQIM of three humanitarian workers in the polisario-run camps of Tindouf (South-western Algeria).
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