Afghanistan/France/Insurgency: warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar claims French ambush

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Afghan former Prime minister and Hezb-I-Islami leader, issued video message claiming the responsibility for the ambush attack that killed 10 French soldiers and wounded 21 on August 19th. Hezb-I-Islami is the dominant rebel group operating in the region. Whilst the Taliban previously rejected working with Hekmatyar’s faction, recent activities suggest that there may be some cooperation between the two groups. An Afghan news agency reported today that it had actually seen the footage in which Hekmatyar claimed that he had lost 10 men in the battle which took place in the mountainous Sarobi region. He also warned of more guerrilla assaults on US and French forces

This attack, which has been one of the deadliest on the French forces in decades, has stirred a very heated debate in France on the involvement of their troops in war ravaged Afghanistan. According to French army officers, about 170 heavily armed rebels confronted the French soldiers with heavy arms and whilst army sources claimed they killed between 40 to 70 rebel fighters, they could recover only one body, as the rebels withdrew under the cover of pitch darkness.

Four French soldiers injured near Kabul 

Four French soldiers have been injured near Kabul on Saturday afternoon. This was announced tonight in Paris by an army’s spokesman.  

A patrol of the 8ème Régiment de Parachutistes d’Infanterie de Marine (8ème RPIMA) clashed with approximately 15 insurgents around 02:50 PM. Four French soldiers were slightly injured by shrapnel.  

On August 18, ten French soldiers were killed by the Taleban, in the Uzbin valley. Eight of those men were from the same regiment.    

France/Insurgency: police detains four pro-ETA party members

French authorities today apprehended in southern France at least four members of Batasuna, the political wing of the militant Basque terrorist group - ETA. Police were searching the Batasuna headquarters in Bayonne, and Xabi Larralde, spokesman of the banned party is among the detainees. Batasuna is however still legally allowed to operate in France.

The terror group has been blamed for hundreds of killings in bombings and other attacks since the 1960s in a campaign to establish an independent Basque state from parts of northeastern Spain and southwestern France. ETA has suffered a series of major blows over the past decade. Despite its recent display of strength, it is widely regarded as a shadow of its former self.

North Africa/Terrorism: AQIM leader threatens French interests 

In a 28-minute audio message released on Monday, AQIM leader, Abdelmalek Droudkel, issued new threats against French and Israeli interests in North Africa. 

Droudkel explained that France, through the Union for the Mediterranean, intends to impose a French-Zionist diktat on the entire region. He added that Paris is controlling all the North African countries that it is still colonizing through the French speaking elite that it has educated and that is ruling the region. 

AQIM’s leader also threatened to attack the Israeli Embassy in Nouakchott to “cleanse Mauritania from the Zionists and the Mossad agents” in order to turn the country into a base for jihadists. 

Droudkel urged the youths of the region to join AQIM to free the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, fight the infidel regime in Tunis, the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Union for the Mediterranean. 

He added that AQIM will soon announce the establishment of an Islamic state in the Maghreb and that his organization will spread its operations to other countries in the region. 

Lastly he urged civilians to stay away from official buildings, military and police facilities in the entire region. He also denied that AQIM targets innocents. 

AQIM leadership has repeatedly issued statements threatening Western interests for the month of Ramadan which ends on September 30. 

French interests in North Africa were last targeted in June when AQIM attacked the French company Razel in Algeria, killing one French national. In Mauritania the Israeli Embassy was attacked by Islamic militants last February while four French tourists were murdered by AQIM in December 2007.

Spain/France/Terrorism: French police arrests two suspected ETA members; Spain requests Interpol assistance 

French police arrested today two suspected members of the Basque separatist ETA. They were identified as Maria Lizagarra Merino (24), a fugitive, and Unai Fano. They were armed but arrested without violence.

 

The operation took place in Trélins, in the Loire département. This region is known to serve as a rear base for ETA terrorists. They must be transferred to Paris in the night or tomorrow morning.

 

It is too early to say if they have any link with the three car bombs that have exploded in Spain this week-end, wounding 10 people and killing a soldier.

 

Today also a Spanish court asked the support of Interpol to localize Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos, an ETA killer freed this summer after serving 21 years in jail for 25 murders.

France/Defence : MP's will vote on the French presence in Afghanistan

A joint session of French parliament will vote on Monday on whether to support President Nicolas Sarkozy's pledge to keep troops in Afghanistan. The vote in parliament comes after 10 French soldiers were killed in an ambush outside of Kabul on Aug. 18, one of the worst attacks on foreign troops in the country. France has roughly 2,600 troops in Afghanistan and 24 French troops have died in Afghanistan since 2002.

This come as the Defence Ministry denied that a NATO report revealed that French soldiers were ill prepared and suffered from lack of ammunition and communication equipment.  NATO also denied the existence of the report produced by Canadian daily Globe and Mail. NATO spokesman James Appathurai said, "NATO has no doubt about the capacities and training of the French forces.”

Somalia/France/Piracy: French government wants new measures to fight Somali pirates

According to French radio station France Info, Somali pirates have tried to attack a French tuna fishing boat sailing in the Indian Ocean, off the coasts of Seychelles. The Pirates in their speedboat failed to board the Drennec but fired two rockets, without claiming any victims or causing major damage, the radio added. The captain of the boat said in a telephone interview that he and most other French and Spanish fishermen present in the area had decided to return to their Home port in Mahé, pending naval protection.

Michel Barnier, French minister of Agriculture and Fishing, asked on Sunday Prime Minister François Fillon to convene an emergency meeting with ministers of  Defence and Foreign Affairs to determine all the necessary  measures to protect the ships operating in international water of the Indian Ocean. In June, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution authorising foreign warships to enter Somalia's territorial waters to combat pirates and armed robbery at sea. Even though this measure it is yet to be implemented, a multinational taskforce based in Djibouti has been patrolling parts of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, where a most of the attacks are committed.

France/Terrorism: French police speaks five Islamist radicals

Five suspected radical Islamists have been arrested by the French police for "robbery with weapons in an organized gang" and "terrorist financing" in Morocco. According to judicial sources quoted by several French media, they reportedly stole one million euros in March 2004.

One of the Islamists would be Hassan Baouchi, a technician responsible for maintaining and supplying ATMs. He claimed on 1 March 2004 he had been taken hostage and that his captors forced him to open safes in several banks. After being denounced by an accomplice, he has finally admitted he had taken part in these false robberies for "financing the terrorist cause", in this case the Moroccan Combatant Islamic Group (GICM).

Hassan Baouchi itself is the brother of Mustapha Baouchi, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2007 for taking part in logistical support of attacks in Casablanca in 2003. The trial of these five individuals, who were referred to the Special Assize Court of Paris, could take place in 2009.

France/Terrorism: Police arrest 5 terror suspects

Police in western France detained five people today suspected of planning to carry out a terrorist attack, as the interior minister warned that the threat of terrorism in France remains high on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. A police official said that investigators took the five suspects into custody in the western city of Rennes after receiving what they called "worrying" tips that they felt merited further investigation.  Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie confirmed the arrests at a news conference but gave few details.

Police said some of those in custody are of North African origin. Investigations were at this stage centred on verifying allegations, made by people close to them, that the youths were planning an attack linked to Islamist motivations, the source said. They were being questioned by anti-terrorism investigators, though the authorities are not yet clear whether the suspects presented a genuine threat.

Somalia/ Piracy: Somali pirates demand $1.4 million ransom to release French tourists

Somali pirates are demanding a ransom of $1.4 million to release the two French tourists kidnapped a week ago, a maritime group said today. The East African Seafarers' Assistance Programme said the Somali pirates were using the yacht of the French couple, Jean-Yves Delanne and his wife Bernardette, to hunt more victims in waters off the lawless Horn of Africa nation.

"Reports directly from Somalia indicate that the hostages were dropped at the Somali coast near Alula…....the gang dragged them to a remote hideout in the Xaabo mountains," the Kenya-based maritime group said in a statement. The statement said the kidnappers were demanding a ransom "in excess" of $1.4 million to free the two hostages, and were also calling for the release of six pirates seized in April. “Naval operations or military interventions most likely will risk the lives of the hostages," the group warned.

France/Russia /Georgia: Nicolas Sarkozy in Russia for Georgia peace deal

French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Moscow on Monday to seek a lasting peace deal for Georgia that will persuade Russia to pull its military out of the ex-Soviet state. This visit comes four weeks after he brokered a ceasefire ending the war. But a dispute remains over the presence of Russian troops in buffer zones around South Ossetia and Abkhazia. A high-ranking French official talking to the reporters, at a weekend foreign ministers meeting, said, "The aim is clear: as big a deployment as possible so the Russians can leave as quickly as possible." The Kremlin says however they are legitimate peacekeepers, while the West calls them occupiers.

The EU has threatened that it will suspend talks on a new partnership pact unless Moscow pulls back its troops. But the 27-member EU bloc has limited scope for influencing the Kremlin as it mainly depends on Russia for its energy supplies. Russia drew Western condemnation when it fought a brief war with Georgia last month, sending tanks and troops deep into its neighbour's territory to defeat a Georgian attempt to retake its breakaway South Ossetia region by force. Tensions flared between Russia and the United States when the Kremlin attacked the presence of NATO warships in the Black Sea and when Venezuela said it planned joint naval exercises with Russia later this year in the Caribbean Sea.

France/Syria/Politics: French President Sarkozy in Syria over peace efforts

French President Sarkozy's two-day visit to Damascus has got off to a bad start when he got engaged in a dialogue on the Iranian nuclear program with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad yesterday. Mr. Sarkozy said, "It's a mystery to no one that Syria enjoys relations of confidence with Iran. It is my duty to draw the attention of a country that is a friend of Iran to how grave the situation is." Mr. Assad in answer said Syria had proposed a UN Security Council resolution making the Middle East a nuclear weapons-free zone, but the resolution was prevented from coming to a vote.  He also aligned himself with the Iranian contention that Iran's nuclear program is solely to produce civil nuclear energy.

Sarkozy's two-day stay in Damascus comes in the wake of his controversial decision to host Syria's President Bashar al-Assad as an honored guest at France's Bastille Day celebration on July 14.  He is the first Western leader to visit Syria since 2005. French diplomats believe that Damascus could further distance itself from Tehran if President Sarkozy can persuade Bashar al-Assad that he has far more to gain by being a cooperative and accountable partner to the West. That would pursue wider United States interests of narrowing Iran's scope for using its ally in Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah movement as a proxy, and also to further isolate and raise pressure on Teheran over its nuclear program.

 « Iran must not have the bomb » (Sarkozy)

 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy reaffirmed, Wednesday that the Iranian regime “must not have the bomb”. This declaration – a simple reaffirmation of the well known French position on this issue – took place at a meeting between Mr Sarkozy and his Syrian counterpart, Bachar al-Assad. Mr Sarkozy was on his first day of an official visit in Damascus. The fact that Mr Sarkozy decided to comment on Iran while in Syria has a very particular significance as Syria is the only real ally of Iran in Middle-East.

France/Prise d’otage : Le GIGN met fin à la prise d’otage à Fleury-Mérogis 

La prise d’otage à la maison d’arrêt de Fleury-Mérogis s’est terminée lundi peu après 22h avec la libération du psychologue de la prison, à la suite d’une intervention du Groupe d’intervention de la gendarmerie nationale (GIGN). Le preneur d’otage a en revanche été grièvement blessé et son pronostic vital est « menacé », selon le ministère de la Justice et la gendarmerie. 

La préfecture a précisé que le détenu, âgé d’une trentaine d’années, « devenait très menaçant » et que le « GIGN a été obligé d’intervenir ». Le psychologue n'a apparemment pas été blessé durant l'intervention.

Condamné à 15 ans de réclusion criminelle pour viol avec arme, l’individu avait profité d’une consultation en salle de soin, lundi en fin de matinée, pour prendre en otage, avec une lame artisanale, un psychologue âgé d’une cinquantaine d’années. 

Soudan/Terrorisme : des pirates de l’air soudanais veulent aller à Paris

Les pirates de l'air qui ont détourné mardi un avion de la compagnie soudanaise Sun Air vers l’aéroport de Koufra, en Libye, ont exigé un plan de vol pour rejoindre à Paris le chef de l'Armée de libération du Soudan (SLA), Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur. Celui-ci a toutefois démenti toute implication de son mouvement sur la chaîne de télévision Al-Jazeera. « Nous n'acceptons en aucun cas de mettre en péril la vie de civils soudanais », a-t-il affirmé.

Selon Khaled Saseya, directeur de l’aéroport, les pirates de l’air refusent de négocier, exigeant uniquement du carburant. « Les pirates refusent de libérer des passagers ou même d'ouvrir les portes qui sont restées fermées depuis l'atterrissage de l'avion », a-t-il déclaré ajoutant que le pilote avait signalé des pertes de connaissance parmi les 95 passagers, suite à une « défaillance dans le système de climatisation ».

Rappelons que la SLA est l'un des principaux groupes rebelles de la province soudanaise du Darfour, qui est le théâtre d’une guerre civile qui aurait fait jusqu’à 300 000 morts depuis 2003 selon l’ONU. L’avion a été détourné après son décollage de l'aéroport de Nyala, où l’armée soudanaise a investi lundi un camp de déplacés. Selon les observateurs de la Mission hybride ONU/Union africaine au Darfour (MINUAD), les combats y auraient fait 33 morts.

Soudan/Libye/Terrorisme : libération des passagers du vol de Sun Air

Selon un responsable libyen, tous les passagers du Boeing 737 de la compagnie aérienne soudanaise Sun Air détourné mardi vers l’aéroport de Koufra ont été libérés. « Les pirates qui sont au nombre de deux et les membres de l'équipage de l'avion sont toujours à l'intérieur » de l'appareil, a-t-il précisé, ajoutant que les négociations se poursuivaient.

Les autorités libyennes n’auraient pas encore de certitude sur l’appartenance des pirates de l'air, qui affirment être membres de l’Armée de libération du Soudan (SLA) et vouloir rejoindre à Paris son chef, Abdel Wahid Mohammed Nur. Rappelons toutefois que celui-ci a démenti « catégoriquement » toute implication de son mouvement dans le détournement

France/Diplomatie : Nicolas Sarkozy plaide la fermeté sur les dossiers iraniens, afghans et géorgiens

(Didier Lebrun/Photo News)

Le président français, Nicolas Sarkozy, a réaffirmé ce mercredi que la communauté internationale ne pouvait pas accepter que l'Iran se dote de l'arme nucléaire. « Les Européens doivent maintenir le cap avec détermination et, faute de réponse de l'Iran, accroître les sanctions dans tous les domaines » a-t-il ainsi déclaré à l’occasion de la 16ème conférence des ambassadeurs de France. « Tout doit être mis en œuvre pour convaincre Téhéran de privilégier la coopération sur l'isolement et sur la confrontation » a-t-il affirmé.

Il a par ailleurs réaffirmé la nécessité d'un engagement sur la durée en Afghanistan, où la France a déployé 2 600 soldats au sein de la Force internationale d’Assistance à la Sécurité (ISAF). Il a aussi réaffirmé que les 10 soldats français tués le 18 août dans une embuscade en Afghanistan étaient « tombés au service d'une cause juste : la lutte contre le terrorisme, pour la liberté et les droits de l'homme. »

A cinq jours du sommet européen extraordinaire sur la situation dans le Caucase, il a enfin jugé que la reconnaissance unilatérale par Moscou de l'indépendance de l'Ossétie du Sud et de l'Abkhazie était « inacceptable », tout en assurant que personne ne souhaitait « revenir à la Guerre froide ». Il a précisé qu’il dirait ce soir au président Dmitri Medvedev que l'accord de cessez-le-feu du 12 août devait « être appliqué en totalité ».

France/Espagne/Terrorisme : arrestation d’un nationaliste basque soupçonné d’appartenir à l’ETA

Aitor Zubillaga Zurutuza, qui serait membre de l’organisation terroriste basque ETA, a été arrêté mardi dans la localité de Gotein-Libarrenx, près de Mauléon, dans le département des Pyrénées-Atlantiques, ont annoncé ce mardi des sources policières françaises. Appréhendé en vertu d’un mandat d’arrêt européen émis le 21 août dernier, il a été conduit devant la cour d'appel de Pau, qui pourrait décider de le remettre à la justice espagnole dans les prochaines heures.

Aitor Zubillaga Zurutuza avait été interpellé une première fois en Espagne le 20 octobre 2000, pour sa participation à des actes de violences urbaines commis par le groupe nationaliste Legazpiko Gazte Indarra (Jeune Force de Legazpi). Il avait été remis en liberté sous caution en juin 2001, avant de prendre la fuite pour échapper à un procès devant l’Audience nationale.

En juillet 2007, il avait été reconnu en compagnie du terroriste Ander Múgica Andonegi près de la ville de Castellón, dans la communauté autonome de Valence. Ce dernier a été arrêté en septembre de la même année, suite à 2 attentats commis dans la région. Si la police l’a inclus sur la liste des « etarras » en mars 2007, il n’a toutefois jamais été prouvé avec certitude qu’Aitor Zubillaga Zurutuza appartienne effectivement à l’organisation terroriste.

France/Police : un projet de loi sur le rattachement de la gendarmerie au ministère de l’Intérieur

La ministre de l’Intérieur Michèle Alliot-Marie a présenté ce jeudi matin un projet de loi en conseil des ministres portant sur le rattachement de la gendarmerie à son ministère et qui devrait être débattu dès l’automne à l’Assemblée nationale. Le nouveau projet de loi garantit entre autre à la gendarmerie son statut militaire. « Le maintien de ce statut est essentiel. Il me paraît conforme aux besoins de la République et de la démocratie de disposer de deux forces de sécurité distinctes, l'une civile et l'autre militaire » a déclaré la locataire de la Place Beauvau. Elle a également précisé que cela « correspondait à une logique de l’emploi, la police disposant de compétences dans les zones urbaines, la gendarmerie s'appuyant sur son fort maillage couvrant 95 % du territoire ».

Rappelons que la gendarmerie et la police ont procédé à un rapprochement depuis 2002, à l'initiative de Nicolas Sarkozy alors ministre de l'Intérieur, à cause de l'évolution de la délinquance qui ignore désormais les frontières entre la ville et la campagne. Le nouveau projet de loi suscite toutefois certaines craintes tant du côté de la gendarmerie que du côté de la police, les deux corps redoutant en effet qu’il ne soit « le prélude à une absorption des uns par les autres, et réciproquement ». Seules la gendarmerie des transports aériens (GTA) et la gendarmerie maritime resteront rattachées au ministère de la Défense, de même que les membres envoyés à l'étranger pour participer notamment à des missions d'aide au maintien de la paix.

France/Crime organisé : des malfaiteurs braquent un centre de dépôt à Aniche

Un groupe de malfaiteurs composé de six ou sept personnes a braqué le centre de dépôts de fonds d'Aniche (nord de la France), à quatre heure dans la nuit de mercredi à jeudi. Il est parvenu à dérober 1,6 million d’euros après avoir neutralisé les grilles d’entrées et fait exploser l’accès à la salle des comptages. Les trois employés présents au moment des faits mais réfugiés dans une salle sécurisée « n’ont eu aucun contact » avec les voleurs. La police indique que les malfaiteurs ont ensuite transféré l’argent et des armes dans deux véhicules « de moyenne cylindrée ».

Pris en chasse par deux véhicules des forces de l’ordre, des coups de feu ont été tirés à plusieurs reprises mais on ne déplore aucun blessé. Pour l’heure les voleurs sont toujours en fuite et l'enquête a été confiée à la Police judiciaire de Lille et à l'Office central de lutte contre le crime organisé. Plusieurs employés du dépôt ont quant à eux été hospitalisé en « état de choc ».