October 21, 2007: France
has finally given Algeria maps of where three million French mines were planted
in the late 1950s. The 1,200 kilometers of mine fields were created to make it
more difficult for Algerian rebels (against the French colonial government)
moving across the Tunisian and Moroccan borders. Most of those mine fields are in remote
areas, and have never been cleared. But each year, those tending herds in the
border areas are killed or injured by the mines, as are their animals. The
mines in more traveled areas have been removed over the decades. But now, with
the maps, the mines in remote areas can be cleared. That will be expensive, as
the mines are now covered with more sand, or have shifted position because of
rain and wind. The mine maps were never a major issue between the two
countries, but France never offered to provide them before either. Now, however, the French army sees an
opportunity to improve its relationship with Algeria. Since the 1950s, the
French army has been particularly hated by Algerians, because of the rough
tactics used during the late 1950s and early 1960s, before France finally left
and Algeria became independent. But over the decades, the hatred has died down.
October 18, 2007: For the
third time since 2004, Pakistan is sending suspected Algerian Islamic
terrorists back to Algeria. Twenty men are going back in a few days. Before
that, forty had been sent back. Some were set free, some were arrested on old
terrorism charges. Many of those Algerians held in Pakistani jails, have been there
since 2001, when Pakistan began its crackdown on Islamic terrorists connected
with al Qaeda and the Taliban. Hundreds of Algerian terrorists had fled to
Afghanistan in the late 1990s, as the tide turned against terrorists in
Algeria.
October 17, 2007:
Mauritania arrested seven of their citizens and accused them of belonging to
Algerian terrorist groups. The two countries share a border, and Algerian
terrorists have been fleeing south over the last few years, as the atmosphere
became more hostile for terrorists in the coastal areas of Algeria (where most
of the people live.) Meanwhile. Algerian security forces continued searching
rural areas east of the capital, where Islamic terrorists are believed to have
hideouts. Several dozen suspects have been arrested there in the last week, and
several camps and weapons caches found.
October 15, 2007: About
60 kilometers east of the capital, seven soldiers were wounded when their
vehicle hit a mine buried under a forest road. The troops are scouring the forested
mountains along the coast, seeking terrorist hideouts.
October 14, 2007: About
40 Islamic terrorists attacked army positions 100 kilometers east of the
capital, but were repulsed, and fled back into the forests. Elsewhere, three
terrorists were killed by police, and more terrorist hiding places and weapons
caches were found. West of the capital, 14 terrorist suspects were arrested.
