Following a regional summit in Bamako, the leaders of Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger agreed to form a 75,000-man security force to police the Sahel and Sahara regions against al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The day after Obama’s speech, which sought to speak for protesters in the Arab world in the name of “free markets,” al-Qaeda issues a statement seeking to speak for them in the name a jihad against “crusader enemies.”
Moammar Qaddafi’s forces are carrying an offensive into Libya’s western Nafusah Mountains that is not only targetting rebel training camps and supply routes, but villages of the indigenous Amazigh (Berber) population.
International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced that he is seeking arrest warrants for Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi and two others in his “inner circle” on charges of crimes against humanity.
An Israeli security firm that recently made headlines when WikiLeaks revealed its numerous intrigues in Latin America has now been named as recruiting mercenaries in West Africa to fight for Moammar Qaddafi’s regime.
The annual Jewish pilgrimage to the Tunisian island of Djerba for the Lag B’Omer holy day has been officially canceled for the first time ever due to security concerns this year.
The US took a step closer to providing financial assistance to the Libyan rebels, as Sen. John Kerry announced he is drafting legislation to free up some of the $34 billion in the Tripoli regime’s assets frozen by the White House.
Amnesty International accused Qaddafi forces of war crimes in Misrata, days after International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said he will pursue arrest warrants against members of the Tripoli regime.
Moroccan authorities announced the arrest of three suspects in last week’s bombing of a Marrakesh cafe—but failed to link them to arrests earlier this year of a supposed al-Qaeda cell in occupied Western Sahara.
At a meeting in Rome, the international Contact Group on Libya agreed to establish a fund that the rebels can access, ostensibly to provide services in their areas of control.
Qaddafi forces resumed shelling of the rebel-held Libyan port of Misrata, as the besieged dictator went on TV both to offer a ceasefire and warn NATO against a ground invasion: “Either freedom or death. No surrender.”
A deadly Marrakesh bomb blast attributed to al-Qaeda came days after thousands of Moroccans marched nationwide to demand sweeping reforms before a new constitution is unveiled in June by King Mohammed VI.
