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Dakar rally safety stepped up
28/12/2007 20:11 - (SA)
Nouakchott - Reeling from two murderous attacks on three soldiers and four French tourists, Mauritania announced on Friday that it is to mobilise 2 000 military amid concern the Dakar rally may become a target of attacks.
Interior Minister Yall Zakaria said a further 2 000 security personnel would also help police the event, which passes through the north-west African state between January 11 and 19.
"There is nothing to fear. Every precaution has been put in place," he said during a media conference which followed a meeting with rally organisers.
Examine security conditions
"The military and plainclothes personnel will ensure the event's security."
Organisers arrived in the country on Thursday to examine security conditions amid a spate of attacks which saw three soldiers killed during an armed ambush in the north-east.
Four French tourists were shot dead and a fifth injured by three Mauritanians, said by government officials to have Al-Qaeda links, and who are still on the run after fleeing across the south-eastern border with Senegal.
Zakaria said he told the rally inspectors that "all necessary measures have been taken by the government to ensure that the event's passage through Mauritania takes place in the best possible conditions."
Two stages cancelled
He added: "They left feeling reassured and comforted at the end of our discussions. The attacks are isolated incidents which should not be interpreted as proof that Mauritania is gripped by unrest."
Rally chief Etienne Lavigne, meanwhile, said that he still had to meet with French embassy officials, who are monitoring the advice they give to travellers, before making any statements.
Terror threats from Mauritania, normally seen as a safe country to travel through, forced the cancellation of two planned stages between Nema and Timbuktu in neighbouring Mali during last year's rally.
- AFP
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