2007 killing of French tourists in Mauritania explained

The 2007 killing of French tourists in Mauritania happened on 24 December 2007.[1] The attack happened near Aleg, 250 km east of the capital Nouakchott.[2]

The victims, five French tourists on holiday, were attacked while they were having a picnic.[3] Four of them were killed and the fifth was seriously injured.[4] There was one survivor; the victims were his two adult sons, brother, and a friend.[5] The 2008 Dakar Rally was moved to central Europe (known as the 2008 Central Europe Rally when held in April) because of this incident due to concerns of a possible terrorist attack.

Mauritanian authorities arrested nine people on 7 January 2008.[6] An assault rifle was recovered by police from a location close to the scene of the killings.[7] The Mauritanian interior minister blamed a terrorist sleeper cell for the killings.[8] Authorities say suspects are members of an extremist group linked to al-Qaida.[9]

One of the suspects arrested in January, Sidi Ould Sidna, escaped from the police in March but was arrested again in April.[10] Sidna had trained with the group Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb, which confirmed Sidna was affiliated with their organization.[11] In 2010, three men who claimed to be "soldiers of Al-Qaeda", Sidi Ould Sidna, Mohamed Ould Chabarnou, and Maarouf Ould Haiba, were sentenced to death by a Mauritanian court for the attack. Since Mauritania has not used the death penalty since the 1980s, their death sentence will likely be commuted to an extended prison sentence on appeal.[12]

Notes and References

  1. News: 4 French tourists killed in Mauritania. ABC News. 24 December 2007 . 6 October 2014.
  2. Book: Mickolus, Edward. Terrorism, 2008-2012: A Worldwide Chronology. March 3, 2014. McFarland. 978-1-4766-1467-0. 310–.
  3. Web site: Thomson Reuters Foundation. Alertnet.org. 6 October 2014.
  4. Web site: News. Telegraph.co.uk. 6 October 2014.
  5. Web site: Mauritania arrests three more suspects in French tourists' murder. AFP. December 29, 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20110520115301/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hVaUEdvQQVR7qkFLWW9vvJ9UJVvA. May 20, 2011. dead.
  6. Web site: Mauritania detains 9 people in French tourists' deaths . Iht.com. 7 October 2014.
  7. Web site: Mauritania: Three arrested over slaying of French tourists - Adnkronos Security. Adnkronos.com. 6 October 2014.
  8. Web site: Mauritania blames killings on terrorist cell. NBC News. 24 December 2007 . 6 October 2014.
  9. Web site: Mauritanian Suspects in French Tourist Killings Linked to al-Qaida. Voice of America. December 25, 2007 . January 8, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071228093500/http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-12-25-voa24.cfm . December 28, 2007 .
  10. Web site: Mauritania Police Arrest Suspect in Killing of French Tourists. Voice of America. April 10, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081117064247/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-04/2008-04-10-voa52.cfm. November 17, 2008. dead.
  11. News: The Saharan Conundrum. The New York Times. 13 February 2009. 6 October 2014. Schmidle. Nicholas.
  12. Web site: Al Qaeda-affiliated tourist killers sentenced to death. France 24. May 25, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100527122013/http://www.france24.com/en/20100525-al-qaeda-affiliated-french-tourist-killers-get-death-sentences. May 27, 2010. dead.

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