Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Western tourists attacked in Mauritania

Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/)

- North Africa (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/north-africa/)

- - Western tourists attacked in Mauritania (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/north-africa/western-tourists-attacked-in-mauritania-46792)

:thumbup1:Well great news. Let's hope there is some follow up in the brief period when noone is held hostage in the desert.

Omar the Saharian interviewed by AFP
AFP: Kidnapper of Spanish hostages says it was just business

Quote:

"I came to Mali free," he said, speaking in Hassania, an Arabic dialect, in remarks that were translated by one of his cousins, Mohammed.
On the day he left Nouakchott "three of them (Mauritanian officials) accompanied me by plane. They told me that the case was over."
In his homeland Mali he is registered "as a cigarette smuggler and transporter of illegal immigrants," according to a Malian security source.
"As a trader, one must also understand this is someone who will do anything for money," the source said.
Hamma was born into a family originally from Mauritania, and is married to a woman from the western Sahara whom he met while conducting business in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria.
That gave him his nickname "Assahraoui" (The Sahrawi).
His origins, his marriage and his relationships with the tribes of the Sahel countries accumulated over countless voyages in this vast area have given him experience that is invaluable to AQIM, which operates on the borders of Algeria, Mauritania, Niger and Mali.
AQIM leader Belmokhtar made Hamma's release one of the key requirements for the release of the Spanish hostages, along with a hefty ransom which Malian mediators say was eight million euros (10 million dollars).

One thing I don't quite understand - as the hostages are now free, what is keeping Malian or Mauritanian law enforcement from picking him up so he can do his twelve years? Also in the trial, he had all his property confiscated (but he lives in Mali, so unclear what that means) - did they hand it back?
The desert could be a slightly safer place to travel with Hamma behind bars.

edit - I just reread the entire thread, and it is an interesting read. Thanks to all who contributed. Let's hope the coming season will be peaceful and we can visit the desert from Adrar to Arlit without fear. :thumbup1:

Why is the Malian Government Behaving in such a Nasty Way?

It seems that the Malian Government doesn't want to do anything to stop the proliferation of Al-Qaeda and kidnappers.
Now that the Mauritanian Government has extradited the kidnapper of the Spaniards, he has 'mysteriously' disappeared somewhere in Bamako!
The justice ministry has said that this subject is not their competence?!

When the two Spaniards were released it was made public after they entered Burkina Faso, not when they reached some big town in Mali, due to security reasons.

It is well known where the dangerous area is located (it seems that Gao and north of Gao) but nothing is done.
The only thing that seems to interest the Malian Government is to get commissions from the kidnapping ransoms.

And the worst thing is that Mali is the only democratic country in the region, so its Government can not even be criticized of being a 'corrupt dictatorship'.

I think that something should be done, because they are posing at risk the entire region.

"Something should be done..."

Any idea what this "something" should be? Or which "someone" should do it?

I have not read everything on the matter, but as I understand it, the disappearance of Omar the Saharan after his return to Mali is not mysterious - he was simply set free and 'went back to his goats'.

He was not 'extradited' in the correct sense [to face charges in the country which he got sent to - Mali] because he faced no charges in Mali. The crime he was accused of was committed in Mori last November.

He was 'released' by Mori (presumably reluctantly, as they had just given him 12 years?) because those where the demands of MBM (on top of ~€8 mil), to in turn release the last 2 Spanish hostages.

But 'released' or 'set free' does not sound so good so we were given 'extradited'.

It is possible there was some worry that the hostages would have ended up like M. Germaneau (though there is doubt GM was actually executed), so maybe that is why MBM got his way so easily.

The fact that Mori was said to have 'kidnapped' him from Mali to take back and face a trial can only be interpreted as unsportsmanlike. But at least he appeared to get a trial - not all AQ suspects kidnapped in broad daylight in Europe and elsewhere get that so soon.

I suppose Mori knew that asking for him to be arrested by Mali and then extradited to Mori to face a trial was futile.

Omar was accused of getting €15k from MBM to grab the Spanish off the highway. Who knows if he was guilty - the fact that MBM demanded his release suggests that the Moris may have had the right guy - or he was related to MBM in some way.

So I agree, his release does not send a good message about Mali, but a good one about Mori - assuming if what is known is correct and the trial was for real.

As some headline somewhere said: 'AQIM controls the Sahel...'

Ch

payments for hostages

Dear all,

Good news the hostages are free!

Bad news:
Paying of ransom always means more kidnaps in the future.
Whatever the groups/people behind this.
It is only for the money.
The people and organisations who pay ransoms to these maffia groups (which ofcourse have nothing to do with any kind of true religion) should also be imprisoned.
The payments could trigger more kidnaps in the future.

Quote:

El Periodico quoted Chafi as saying: “AQIM wanted to block the last vehicle of the convoy; kidnap as much hostages as possible and then shot dead the rest of aid workers”.

El Khabar - “Bemokhtar planned to kill all Spanish aid workers”, intermediary

Ulrich

Quote:

Spanish Hostages: What really happened

Everything begins November 29, 2009, on the road between Nouadhibou and Nouakchott. A convoy of humanitarian NGOs in Spanish Catalan Accio Salidario was targeted by gunmen. The last car, remained at the drags, is affected by the attack. First there are three humanitarian:

Kassataya - Otages espagnols : Ce qui s’est réellement passé

Gogoonisch - E

Ulrich