A court in Mauritania has charged 20 people with being part of a drug-trafficking group linked to al-Qaeda’s North African wing.
They were also charged with supporting the perpetrators of terrorist acts.
The arrests were made in late February after a gun battle when a convoy was stopped near the Mali border by the Mauritanian military.
These charges follow a number of recent reports about ties between drug trafficking and terrorism in the Sahel. For some anti-drug officials, the discovery of a burned-out airplane in Mali in November was “an example of…West Africa’s growing role in an international drugs trade and is fuelling militancy that is destabilising the region.” Malian authorities made three arrests in the case, but later set the suspects free. In December, the US arrested three Malians in Ghana and charged them with drug trafficking and aiding terrorists. With this incident, too, “Federal officials [said] the case promises to peel back what they contend are increasing ties between drug traffickers and Al Qaeda as the terrorist group seeks to finance its operations in Africa and elsewhere.”
Cocaine trafficking in West Africa has drawn attention for years. Mauritania and Senegal made record seizures of cocaine in 2007. But concern about the political effects of drug trafficking began to grow in early 2009. This led to offers of assistance from the EU and the UN.
Concern about drugs and terrorism has also been growing up to the present time. Some explain the Sahelian drug-AQIM connection as part of a global trend involving Al Qaeda and drug trafficking. I’m not sure that’s the case. Or at least I don’t think Osama bin Laden exercises much direct influence over AQIM and its activities. I take more seriously, though, statements by Algerian authorities that AQIM fighters are actively protecting drug smugglers in the Sahara. I am inclined, as regular readers know, to explain AQIM’s behavior partly as criminality that falls under a broad, but vague, AQIM banner. But the situation is dynamic and there is substantial evidence that terrorists and drug traffickers have built more formal, organized, and ongoing connections. Perhaps the arrests in Mauritania have nothing to do with hardline terrorism, and say more about Mauritanian politics than regional terrorist operations. But perhaps they are a puzzle piece with significance beyond the domestic. Jury’s still out in my view.
Tommy has more here.
Sahel Blog 
Alex-
Very quickly, I agree w/ your skepticism on AQIM. It seems like the drug connection is growing, but the key thing is in each of these articles, it’s “groups linked to AQIM” or some similar construction. Again, we have the problem of not knowing who these affiliated groups are, if they are mostly AQIM katibat or others, if they are mercenaries hired out by AQIM, etc…
It’s important to remember, though that money going to AQIM (hint, hint, ransom payments) helps fund other activities, leading to even further instability. So paying for kidnapping isn’t just about kidnapping, but about military operations, drug protection, and any variety of other things.
Andrew
The connection between the traffickers and AQIM is increasingly apparent; so too is the connection between traffickers and parts of the Mauritanian military, as a recent French documentary shows. Other accounts private and public have anecdotal relations between upper reaches of the Mauritanian military and drug traffickers. Other reports relate to weapons being sold going years and years back nowadays in the hands of armed groups in the immediate region and further afield. Working on a post on this now. The evidence that is coming out supports the argument that this problem cannot be approached strictly from a “counter terrorism” or ideological perspective alone.
Makes sense to me, except that I don’t know much about the Mauritanian military’s role. What is the documentary’s title? I’ll be eager to see your post.
Here is the article I heard about it from:
http://www.taqadoumy-fr.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2993&Itemid=28
Post I’m writing is more about the military and AQIM and morale than the drug angle. (Have been preparing stuff on that post but am not putting it up yet. Still gathering information on it.)
RE: The Mauritanian military and smugglers: Basically before the 2005 coup, the military used to burn a lot of old ammunition on a monthly basis to make room for new stocks. Soldiers used to sell that ammo before burning the stocks and report it as having been destroyed. I’ve been told the military’s role in smuggling was providing cover and/or taking bribes to look the other way. From 2000, though, more drugs started coming through, hashish going the north (especially Egypt) and ammo and/or old weapons going mostly to Chad. Cigarettes go to Algeria.
The documentary calls out a general and interviews Sidi Mohamed Haidallah (son of the fmr. Mauritanian president) on the subject; he got arrested a couple of years ago for smuggling some ridiculous amount of cocaine in Morocco. There were some documents that came out recently on some of the top brass too, linking them to traffickers (also on Taqadoumy).
I was told by somebody that when the drug traffickers started making big money (and flashing it around), military types got interested and wanted a cut in exchange for passage and such. The government cracked down on them but didn’t really stop it. Several upper ranking officers are known for having made a lot of money off of the traffickers. It’s almost totally anecdotal but seems pretty well known and people talk about in a kind of matter of fact way.
Maybe Tidinit can fill us in on some stuff related to this. I’m in the early stages of prepping that post.