Analysis: West pushed to pick up the pieces in Africa after Libyan uprising

By WILLIAM MACLEAN
Published on Wednesday 25 January 2012 03:26

REGIONAL rivalries and doubts about Western intervention are hampering efforts by Africa’s fragile Sahara-Sahel zone to prevent remote desert areas destabilised by Libya’s war from becoming safe havens for al-Qaeda and international criminals.

Some of the world’s poorest countries, such as Mali, Niger and Mauritania, are scrambling to secure international expertise to shore up crumbling state authority in the face of an influx of weapons and fighters from Libya’s conflict.

Counter-terrorism experts are concerned that al-Qaeda gangs, enriched by ransoms paid for Western hostages, are exploiting growing lawlessness to push their influence south, possibly even into Nigeria.

Chadian General Adoum Ngare Hassan told a security conference in Morocco at the weekend that if Maghreb states span out of control their neighbours could face “a descent into hell”.

The general – responsible for protecting Chad’s borders with Niger, Libya and Sudan – suggested the West bore much of the responsibility for regional disarray through its support for the revolt in Libya, a country which he said is now risking “general collapse”.

But while there is agreement in the international community on the urgent need to help Sahelian states with security, in practice it is proving very hard, analysts and diplomats say.

The principal reason is a long-standing rift between Arab Maghreb neighbours Algeria and Morocco, a fact that frustrates many in the region because by common consent these two countries are best qualified to help their weaker southern neighbours.

Both are heavyweight military and intelligence powers – but they are also rivals, and an impasse in relations means they do not operate the sort of security co-operation in their Saharan backyard that could really make a difference.

As a result Sahelian states may have to rely on Europe and the United States for counter-terrorism support, an uneasy prospect for countries battling al-Qaeda militants who seek to portray regional governments as stooges of the West.

Some countries blame the West for the chaotic end to Muammar al-Gaddafi’s long rule, arguing the disarray handed Al-Qaeda In The Islamic Maghreb the chance to obtain arms looted on its behalf from Libya – a feat the group has openly, and proudly, disclosed.

Gen Hassan, whose country is a former Gaddafi ally now struggling with hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing Libya’s turmoil, suggested that if the uprisings in north Africa span out of control it would have a devastating impact on other parts of the continent.

He said: “It’s high time the rich nations of Europe and America decided to help Africa squarely in this critical phase where [African] armed forces, even if united, cannot tackle small groups of extremely mobile and elusive armed bandits.”

It is also in the West’s own interest to step up support, he said: “If terrorists of all sorts don’t manage to pass through the defensive meshes of the West, the porous frontiers of African states will provide them a choice of opportunities.”

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