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Spanish engineer reported missing near Ouargla, DZ
Ennahar Online - A Spanish engineer disappeared in the desert of Ouargla
AFAIK foreign workers around here aren't allowed to even go out of the compound without drivers and guards, so if it's true it could be more than lost in the desert. Ch |
Algeria - Al Qaeda in Islamist Maghreb kidnapped Israeli
The never ending story:
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Ulrich |
and
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Yes, fear of kidnapping is akin to fear of flying - risk of injury or death is higher in your car en route.
Haaretz writes that 12 foreigners were kidnapped over the last three years, but I think it all took place in Mauritania, Niger, Mali and Tunisia. Algeria has been peaceful, sort of. Some confusion over this Spaniard/Israeli. |
This is Chris Scotts post from a few days ago.....seems like it could be the same guy?
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ing-near-49176 |
Yep, same dude. Questionss as to his identity and what he was actually doing there.
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Mysterious case
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Ulrich |
Merged to save confusion. (not sure it will help!).
As I speculated elsewhere, ennahar does have a pretty 'tabloid' imagination by Maghrebi media standards (not that I know them all by heart). Some of you will have spotted this popular report on there from a year ago, which I only just bothered reading but which has plenty of reader support. Ennahar Online - Algerians and Moroccans in El Qaida training camps in Israel AFAICU, it claims Mossad is recruiting and training people to send to AQIM. "... for possible terrorist operations against the interests of foreign countries in the Arab countries who are regarded by Israel as a threat to its security" Can't work out if "the interests of foreign countries in the Arab countries" means for example Shell in Algeria, or if it means "... interests of foreign countries in the Arab World" which would mean Alg, Libya, etc. Who knows what the current story is really about - inflitrating GSPC to help them wreak havoc or to undermine them? - but you suspect it may be trying to capitalise on current Israeli unpopularity wrt whatever snub Hilary Clinton received a few weeks ago (missed the full story) and of course the Brit-passport cloning/Dubai assassination saga. Maybe it was just a chancer backpacker who forgot to get off the bus in Ghardaia... Ch |
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In a world of paranoia it is important to stand for reason. Al Qaeda is likely not a CIA/Jewish conspiracy. |
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Just curious
Saw the Ennahar article. Not sure I have much trust in a story which draws information from 'corroborating sources' I must say. But there's another line that puzzled me: 'Both hotels are owned by private and are not classified'. Are there hotels in Algeria which are "classified"? What does that mean? Sorry for an off-topic question.
Peter |
There's a lot of dodgy or lazy journalism going on out there, not just Ennahar.
Haaretz (Israel News) writes "... Al-Qaida has abducted 12 foreign citizens in the last three years in the areas of Algeria and Morocco..." Or maybe they just missed out the 'not'. (Oops, just noticed this was mentioned earlier). Re not classified, it could mean basic places where dont ask for details (reg cards) when you check in. Just guessing. I think the doss house we stayed at in HM one time was like that. If this guy is Mossad, he's not the cream of the crop. Asking the price of semolina! What was he thinking? Ch PS ...fear of kidnapping is akin to fear of flying I recall this debate on here before but if you take the number of overlanders who drove into Mori last year and got nabbed I would guess it is many times higher than 44/100,000. Conspicuity is the problem. What tourism is left is being ruined, and that's without a Ghadafi type figure blowing hot and cold. |
This guy could be a crackpot. Time may tell.
As for the numbers, dunno about 'overlanders', but if they issued 20000 visas last year (slight guesswork here, they were doing around 100 per working day when I was in Rabat) and 5 got 'nabbed', as you put it, it would be about the same risk. And 5 was more than average for Mauri I believe. |
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