ANALYSIS-Raid shows resolve, trouble in fight vs Sahara's Qaeda

Tue Jul 27, 2010 9:21am GMT

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* French-backed raid points to more robust action

* Reveals failings in regional collaboration

* Risks fuelling propaganda, further attacks

By David Lewis

DAKAR, July 27 (Reuters) - A joint French-Mauritanian raid may indicate a hardening of resolve against the Saharan band of al Qaeda's North African wing, but it also underscores cracks in regional coordination and risks fuelling anti-Western rhetoric.

The operation failed to free a French hostage, whom Islamists say they have since executed. In the fallout, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has vowed to punish the killers and extended travel warnings for the region for fear of further attacks.

Andre LeSage, senior research fellow for Africa at the National Defense University in the United States, said the raid showed how seriously the Islamist threat was being taken. "Direct military support -- not just training and the provision of equipment -- is now being considered by some actors."

A spike in Islamist activity in Mauritania, Mali and Niger, mostly kidnappings resulting in multi-million dollar ransom payments, has led to an increase in international support for countries fighting the al Qaeda-linked group, known as AQIM. Continued...

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