Nouakchott could still be risky

[Chris Scott]

From Maghrebia...

Foreign couple escapes attempted abduction in Nouakchott

2010-04-08 A French-Lebanese couple escaped [what could have been] an attempted kidnapping Wednesday evening near the French embassy in Nouakchott, ANI reported on Thursday (April 8th). Witnesses reported that around 10 pm, two turbaned men approached the foreigners as they were exiting their car. The assailants fired a weapon to reportedly force the victims back into their vehicle, but fled when police arrived on the scene. According to Journal Tahalil, it is unclear if the incident was an attempted carjacking or a failed terrorist kidnapping.

Ch

[palace15]

And it's incidents like these that will probably prevent The Dakar Rally ever returning to Africa.

[Chris Scott]

Actually I hear they're hoping for Libya next year - comparatively safer and back to the real thing.
All they got to hope is Libya doesn't move the goal posts a week before...

Ch

[palace15]

Originally Posted by Chris Scott

Actually I hear they're hoping for Libya next year - comparatively safer and back to the real thing.
All they got to hope is Libya doesn't move the goal posts a week before...

Ch

Did hear that rumour as well, would be nice to have it back in Africa, although as you say, that as long as Libya does not move the goalposts, it does make it a bit more difficult to follow the Rally overland. I suppose now that we are in April a firm decision needs to be made very soon.
Dakar 2011: 2011 Edition > Calendar
Footnote; just checked the Dakar website and it appears that the 2011 Rally will once again be in Argentina/Chile.

[lambchop]

i recently spent around 2 weeks in mauritania. i heard from what i believe to be a reliable source that there is 1 billion ougiya offered for any westerner (apart form brits) handed over to al qaeda. a nice car and 2 billion ougiya would be a good days work by anyones standards..

[Dick]

Whats wrong with kidnapping Brits ? Why are we excluded ?

I'd have thought with the numbnuts foreign policy of our Government over the last 9 years, we'd be pretty popular candidates for an orange jumpsuit

[lambchop]

i'm sure they'd gladly take a brit but they (we) are of no commercial value, hence apparently no reward..

[Dave The Hat]

Being a Brit could be an advantage in the sense that they know the UK governent wont pay ransoms (as highlighted with the Edwin Dyer case). Therefore UK hostages are more of a hindrance than a valuable porn.

Then again it could be a hindrance in that Brits will simply get shot on site

[kirkley]

Is it safe? There are 3000+ expats living in Nouakchott. I think they consider it safe enough. This story hasn't been confirmed -- I was outside the CCF that night, and haven't heard anything on it besides this news story.

Hands down, the city is safer than Dakar, safer than Rio de Janeiro, safer than Paris and New York. You get the occasional extremist, but let's not blow it out of proportion.

[lambchop]

Kirkley, i agree with you. i wouldn't have spent 2 weeks there if i didn't feel safe. but then again, i'd rather get mugged and beaten 10 times than kidnapped once by an extremist. i actually got robbed in dakar on the same trip but who cares, it's just a bit of money. i believe the likely hood of something happening in mauritania is absolutely miniscule but the consequences are potentially much greater. but hey, i might get hit by a bus outside my house this morning. bad things happen all over the world. im not saying mauritania is any worse than anywhere else.

[Chris Scott]

I think they consider it safe enough...

Yes but I bet, living in the wealthy quarter and possibly better guarded these days, they comport themselves a little more cautiously in recent years.

This story hasn't been confirmed -- I was outside the CCF that night, and haven't heard anything on it besides this news story.

I agree, it could be a whole lot of nothing.

Hands down, the city is safer than Dakar, safer than Rio de Janeiro, safer than Paris and New York. You get the occasional extremist, but let's not blow it out of proportion.

Dont know Rio but I agree about Dakar (Bamako too) as well as proportion. Day to day NKT is more relaxed apart from the threat of the odd jihadi nutter.

Ch

PS: I would not depend on Brits being immune, but if they are it may pay to drive one of these from now on:

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by lambchop

i recently spent around 2 weeks in mauritania. i heard from what i believe to be a reliable source that there is 1 billion ougiya offered for any westerner (apart form brits) handed over to al qaeda. a nice car and 2 billion ougiya would be a good days work by anyones standards..

I'd be interested to know where you got your "info".

1,000,000,000 Ougiya is at least €2,500,000. If thats the case i'd nearly fly down there myself and start rounding tourists up on a fairly large scale.

But seeing that Al Qaeda are getting 5-10 million for 3 tourists thats a fairly generous comission on their part.

If this is the case (and I seriously doubt it) then every jobless bandit in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Bissau, Cote d'Ivoire and who knows where else would be roaming the streets looking for tourists, expats and god knows who else.

I seriously doubt your info is vaguely correct (if it is I really do apologise) and would ask you to stop spreading stuff like this on forums like this.

Kevin

[lambchop]

appologies, that was a gross miscalculation on my part. the figure was 10m.. 27k euros..

[strumminJ]

Originally Posted by Chris Scott

Actually I hear they're hoping for Libya next year - comparatively safer and back to the real thing.
All they got to hope is Libya doesn't move the goal posts a week before...

Ch

or maybe 3 weeks before, as I heard for visa refusals to most of the participants of Libya rally last month, causing the whole event to be moved to Tunisia...