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Said Gafurov, expert in Oriental Studies, believes that Paris acted thoughtlessly.
"By assisting Mali, France is widening the gap between the people of Mali and the rest of the world. French bombings and killings will cause serious aftermaths and the situation is very likely to follow the Afghan scenario. After Libya, the West empowered France as an order settler so Paris is free to apply the Libyan pattern to African countries. The EU, on its part, admits that it mostly cares about protecting its companies in Africa neglecting what locals think."
The Algeria hostage crisis showed that instability in Africa is more than a local problem. The hostage-takers were nationals of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and even France and Canada. They came to take revenge for Mali from Libya, where the West boasts of having an efficient democracy. This is a perfect example of the West-imposed globalization in the Muslim World.
The gas plant attack was well prepared and quite symbolic. BP oil giant is perceived as something alien and evil coming from the West. Al-Qaeda had already threatened Algerians who worked for foreign companies.
Mali, Algeria – what’s next?
| Ilya Kharlamov | 18.01.2013, 19:45 |
 | Officially, the Algerian army assault to free the BP gas field hostages is over but some say that anti-terrorist raids continue in the area. The West once put a stake on force and political manipulation in Africa and that’s what it has now got. The French anti-insurgent operation in Mali triggered a predictable reaction of the latter’s neighbors and Al-Qaeda linked militants captured hundreds of hostages at the In Amenas gas facility. At least four foreign workers died when troops stormed the site on Thursday.France’s neo-colonial claims (quite surprising for the 21st century) added oil to the African fire and the recent events showed how volatile the region is – one inconsiderate move can cause bloodshed across the entire area. Source: Voice of Russia. |
Said Gafurov, expert in Oriental Studies, believes that Paris acted thoughtlessly.
"By assisting Mali, France is widening the gap between the people of Mali and the rest of the world. French bombings and killings will cause serious aftermaths and the situation is very likely to follow the Afghan scenario. After Libya, the West empowered France as an order settler so Paris is free to apply the Libyan pattern to African countries. The EU, on its part, admits that it mostly cares about protecting its companies in Africa neglecting what locals think."
The Algeria hostage crisis showed that instability in Africa is more than a local problem. The hostage-takers were nationals of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and even France and Canada. They came to take revenge for Mali from Libya, where the West boasts of having an efficient democracy. This is a perfect example of the West-imposed globalization in the Muslim World.
The gas plant attack was well prepared and quite symbolic. BP oil giant is perceived as something alien and evil coming from the West. Al-Qaeda had already threatened Algerians who worked for foreign companies.
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In an interview with the Voice of Russia broadcast on Friday, Moscow-based Oriental expert Said Gafurov said that the war in Mali may worsen the situation in Algeria.
"Algeria’s south-eastern part are inhabited by the Tuareg people who are not in the know about their place of residence, Gafurov says, referring to the fact that that the border in this area is yet to be demarcated between Mali, Algeria and Libya. In this regard, the Tuareg fell victim to non-traditional Salafi Islam, something that poses a very serious threat to regional security."
In Niger, Mali’s south-eastern immediate neighbor and former French colony, people have been living in stability since 2011. Previous years saw a whole array of political upheavals in Niger, which gained independence in 1960. The country has gone through one official military regime and six republics since then. In this regard, experts remain cautiously optimistic about the reliability of a new constitution in Niger.
As for Nigeria, Niger’s southern immediate neighbor, it may get a status of a possible asylum for Islamists if they withdraw from Mali. Right now, armed clashes between government troops and radical Islamists show no signs of abating in Niger.
Meanwhile, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz is trying to deal with the reconciliation with his country’s black population while observing ‘white’ interests of the army and the police.
As for Chad, it saw two devastating civil wars, several coups and a spate of inter-ethnic conflicts. Caused by a neighboring armed conflict in Darfur, the second civil war in Chad is, in fact, under way. As far as Sudan is concerned, it was divided into South Sudan and North Sudan following two bloody civil wars in 2011, something that fueled armed separatist conflicts in Darfur, Kordofan and Beja, where fighting is under way.
In Ethiopia and Somalia, the current situation is anybody’s guess because local authorities are seeking to keep mum on a real state of affairs there. As for Ethiopia, it is only known that an official government in Addis Ababa is involved in hostilities against the Ogaden National Liberation Front.
It is safe to assume that France will hardly find enough troops to send to its former colonies in order to carry out peacekeeping operations there. Even though most of these wars and conflicts date back to colonial epoch, measures to prevent them are yet to be taken.
War in Mali poses threat to others
| Nikita Sorokin | 18.01.2013, 18:31 |
 | The seizure of hostages by extremists at a gas facility in Algeria, caused by France’s invasion of Mali, has prompted the French Foreign Ministry to warn French citizens of extreme risks in Western Africa. However, Algeria and Mali are just two links in the continuous tension belt spreading across northern part of Africa from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. Mali and its immediate neighbors are former colonies. Their borders were defined by Europeans without considering ethnic and religious differences between nations and tribes. As time went by, these differences resulted in civil wars and inter-state armed conflicts. Meanwhile, experts remain at odds over the consequences of a war in Mali.In an interview with the Voice of Russia broadcast on Friday, Moscow-based Oriental expert Said Gafurov said that the war in Mali may worsen the situation in Algeria. Source: Voice of Russia. |
In an interview with the Voice of Russia broadcast on Friday, Moscow-based Oriental expert Said Gafurov said that the war in Mali may worsen the situation in Algeria.
"Algeria’s south-eastern part are inhabited by the Tuareg people who are not in the know about their place of residence, Gafurov says, referring to the fact that that the border in this area is yet to be demarcated between Mali, Algeria and Libya. In this regard, the Tuareg fell victim to non-traditional Salafi Islam, something that poses a very serious threat to regional security."
In Niger, Mali’s south-eastern immediate neighbor and former French colony, people have been living in stability since 2011. Previous years saw a whole array of political upheavals in Niger, which gained independence in 1960. The country has gone through one official military regime and six republics since then. In this regard, experts remain cautiously optimistic about the reliability of a new constitution in Niger.
As for Nigeria, Niger’s southern immediate neighbor, it may get a status of a possible asylum for Islamists if they withdraw from Mali. Right now, armed clashes between government troops and radical Islamists show no signs of abating in Niger.
Meanwhile, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz is trying to deal with the reconciliation with his country’s black population while observing ‘white’ interests of the army and the police.
As for Chad, it saw two devastating civil wars, several coups and a spate of inter-ethnic conflicts. Caused by a neighboring armed conflict in Darfur, the second civil war in Chad is, in fact, under way. As far as Sudan is concerned, it was divided into South Sudan and North Sudan following two bloody civil wars in 2011, something that fueled armed separatist conflicts in Darfur, Kordofan and Beja, where fighting is under way.
In Ethiopia and Somalia, the current situation is anybody’s guess because local authorities are seeking to keep mum on a real state of affairs there. As for Ethiopia, it is only known that an official government in Addis Ababa is involved in hostilities against the Ogaden National Liberation Front.
It is safe to assume that France will hardly find enough troops to send to its former colonies in order to carry out peacekeeping operations there. Even though most of these wars and conflicts date back to colonial epoch, measures to prevent them are yet to be taken.