11 police border guards (GGF) were killed in the fatal attack in the town of Tinzaouatine in the Tamanrasset wilaya, near the Mali-Algerian border, on Wednesday. The debate over the safety of the Southern regions have been revived as all fingers point to Al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
Border guards patrolling the Tinzaouatine area in the Tamanrasset wilaya, near the border between Algeria and Mali, were the target of a bloody attack by members of al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM ) on Wednesday.
Eleven gendarmes were killed when a hand made bomb that was placed in an area meant for security vehicles went off after the gendarmes came under machine-gun fire from a group of al-Qaeda terrorists.
The terrorists managed to flee after snatching their victims’ weapons.
Terrorism in the Sahel
The upsurge in terrorist acts on the Algeria-Mali border has reopened the debate over what measures should be taken in both Algeria and Mali, to stamp out a phenomenon that has been increasing at an alarming rate.
According to local reports, terrorist activities in the South of Algeria are led by Yahia Abu Amar, “emir” Katibat Tariq ibn Ziyad’s area of the Sahel region.
Although Algeria is considered as being at the forefront in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel, political instability in the Sahel countries does not without consequence for the security of the whole region.
