Rally cancellation highlights lawlessness of Sahara

By Alistair Thomson

DAKAR (Reuters) - The Dakar Rally's 11th-hour cancellation dramatically highlighted the growing lawlessness of the vast Sahara, a hotbed for armed groups ranging from al Qaeda to Tuareg rebels and drug gangs running cocaine to Europe.

For 30 years the 6,000-km (3,750-mile) race has snaked its way through West Africa to the Senegalese capital, often bypassing danger spots as one or other country en route has become unsafe due to violence or tourists being taken hostage.

The race has become synonymous with sporting risk as dozens of competitors have died in some of the world's toughest terrain but for the first time in its history, just a day ahead of the scheduled start on Saturday, organisers called off this year's competition due to security threats.

Sources close to French intelligence services said there had been a specific al Qaeda threat against the Rally, which draws some 500 competitors and thousands of racing enthusiasts from all around the world.

Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, the group's North African unit, issued a statement on several Islamist Web sites on December 29 branding the race neo-colonialist and accusing Mauritania of collaborating with "crusaders, apostates and infidels", echoing previous calls to arms.

After suspected al Qaeda militants shot dead four French tourists as they enjoyed a Christmas Eve picnic by a roadside in southern Mauritania, and days later killed three army soldiers further north, race organisers had to take threats seriously.

"Al Qaeda in the Maghreb has been instructed by Osama bin Laden and deputy Ayman al-Zawahri to step up attacks in the region," said Mohamed Darif, an expert in radical Islamist groups operating in the Maghreb.

Al Qaeda's global second-in-command called in September for Muslims to "cleanse" the Maghreb "of the children of France and Spain", and the attacks in Mauritania fuelled fears the group may try to extend the sphere of its operations southwards.