Sahel: Algerian regime’s destabilizing proxies threaten Africa’s stability

As Mali’s transitional President Gen. Assimi Goita has reaffirmed lately his determination to continue the fight against terrorism,calls are mounting against the Algerian regime’s subversive activities seeking to undermine the stability and security of the Sahel region.

According to some foreign intelligence reports,the Tuareg factions close to radical Imam Mahmoud Dicko,supported by Algerian junta,were behind the recent attacks that rocked the region and not the jihadists of “Jama’a Nusrat ul-Islam wa al-Muslimin” (JNIM),an Al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group active in Mali and Burkina Faso.

The Malian army withdrew over the weekend from its military base in Boulkessi,in the center of the country,following two bloody attacks that claimed the lives of several dozen soldiers. This retreat,described as “tactical” by the military authorities,comes as the Malian army is facing growing attacks on the outskirts of Timbuktu,Ségou,Dioila and Sikasso where curfews have been imposed following the escalation of jihadist violence.

Algiers has long been suspected of playing a double game in the Sahel crisis. Officially,it says it is committed to the stability of the region but behind the scenes,the deceitful Algerian regime supports some armed groups operating in northern Mali because they serve its own hegemonic geostrategic interests.

Mali’s military leader has denounced “a resurgence of cowardly and barbaric attacks” that targeted civilian populations and military installations in a bid to weaken not only Mali but all members of the Alliance of Sahel States.

The United States Africa Command has warned lately about growing efforts made by various different Islamist militant groups which operate in the Sahel to gain access to West Africa’s coastline.

The Algerian proxies active in the Sahel conduct illicit activities like smuggling,human trafficking and arms trading. If they gain access to the African Atlantic Sea,they can diversify their revenues,expand their operations,export terrorism to American shores and disrupt international maritime routes.