U.S., allies marshaling African proxies for fight against terrorism

"A quarrel in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing."

That was how British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain saw the Nazi threat against the Czech Sudetenland in 1938, a sentiment freshly evoked among war-weary citizens as the United States and its allies ponder moves to oust Islamic extremists from northern Mali, a country most Americans couldn't find on a map.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and diplomatic counterparts from France have been shopping around a plan to train and equip West African troops to drive out the Al Qaeda-aligned militants who hold sway over a swath of northern Mali the size of Texas. Ultraorthodox Muslims this year hijacked a long-simmering rebellion by ethnic Tuaregs and began imposing an extreme version of Islamic law once in power. In July, they took axes to "idolatrous" cultural treasures in Timbuktu, provoking worldwide horror at the destruction.

Like Afghanistan before 9/11, when Taliban collusion with Al Qaeda made the country a training ground for terrorism, Mali left in the grip of militant Islamists runs the risk of becoming the next launch pad for attacks on the United States and its allies.

U.S. interest in rooting out Ansar Dine and Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb from northern Mali has intensified in the seven weeks since a suspected terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. The Al Qaeda affiliates in Mali are believed to have played at least a supportive role in the Benghazi attack.

"The Benghazi event, with the murder of Chris Stevens, has really precipitated American intervention. It's turned the tables in the region," said Ghislaine Lydon, a history professor at UCLA and expert on precolonial Northwest Africa.

With military in disarray, Tuareg rebels gain in northern Mali

REPORTING FROM KANO, NIGERIA -- Tuareg rebels seized territory in northern Mali on Friday in the wake of a military coup in the distant capital that left the military in disarray.

There were reports of soldiers abandoning their posts and running away in the confusion that followed the coup in Bamako on Thursday, raising speculation that the rebels could gain control of the north.

State television went off the air Friday, amid speculation of a counter-coup by troops loyal to President Amadou Toumani Toure.

The government was ousted by a group of disgruntled soldiers furious at its failure to properly arm and equip sparse military forces assigned to face the heavily armed and combat-hardened Tuaregs. Mali's military has only 7,000 soldiers.

The African Union on Friday suspended Mali's membership. The European Union suspended development activities in the country, which has already been hit hard by a food crisis and a collapse of tourism because of kidnappings of foreigners by an Al Qaeda affiliate, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The EU said humanitarian aid wouldn't be affected.

Jean Ping, an African Union official, told reporters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that Toure, 63, was safe near Bamako. "We have been told that the president is safe, protected by a certain number of loyalists," Ping said.

As the army retreated from northern towns, the rebels' group, the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, took the northern town of of Anefis on Thursday and were threatening Kidal and Timbuktu on Friday, according to news reports.

A leader of the rebels, Dilal ag Alsherif, told the Associated Press in a satellite phone interview Friday that his forces were approaching Kidal, with the military in disarray. His men took Anefis without a fight, he said.

Amid rising international condemnation of the coup, the captain leading the junta, Amadou Sanogo, told the BBC on Friday that he would stand down once the country was secure and the Tuareg rebellion was over. He said that might take three to nine months.

But he appeared to be exercising little authority over soldiers in Bamako, or in the north.

The coup, just weeks before a presidential election was due, is a major setback for democracy in Western Africa. Mali had been seen as a democratic beacon in a region where leaders often cling to power or try to flout term limits.

Sanogo said former members of the government would be put on trial but that there was no intention to harm them. 

One reason for the anger among soldiers was the widespread perception of corruption and looting of government funds by military and government officials, analysts said.

Sanogo cited "a lack of equipment, a lack of training and our comrades are dying all the time" in the BBC interview. "So once this has been fixed, I'll be able to say, 'OK, go for election' in a short period of time. I promise."

While the army in the north retreated to the town of Gao, unruly soldiers in the capital ignored Sanogo's calls for order and looted shops and businesses.

"People are afraid because of the soldiers. Often [they take] what is in the car or they make you get out and take the car, or sometimes the soldiers themselves just break into shops," Bamako resident Adama Quindo told Reuters.

The position of the country's generals and senior military officials wasn't clear. None came out in support of Sanogo. 

Tuareg rebels, many of whom fought for Moammar Kadafi during the recent Libyan conflict, fled to Mali after his downfall, armed with sophisticated weapons. They launched an uprising in northern Mali in January, swiftly driving the army from several key towns. 

In fighting in January, the army was driven out of a military base in Aguelhok reportedly because the ammunition ran out. Dozens of soldiers were killed, with some reports of summary executions of civilians and soldiers by the rebels.

ALSO:

China coup rumors may be wild, but tension is real

Mali coup decried by Western and African leaders

Saudi single men to be allowed in Riyadh malls during peak hours

-- Robyn Dixon

Photo: Soldiers secure the area around the presidential palace after a military coup in Bamako, Mali, on Friday, March 23, 2012. Credit: Harouna Traore / Associated Press

Mali soldiers claim to have overthrown government

REPORTING FROM KANO, NIGERIA -- After fighting in Bamako, Mali's capital, a group of Malian soldiers calling themselves the National Committee for the Establishment of Democracy appeared on state television early Thursday claiming to have ousted President Amadou Toumani Toure for "incompetence."

The coup came just a month before the country was due for elections, when Toure was to stand down. The trigger appeared to be anger in the military over the government's inability to handle a rebellion by a Tuareg militia in the north of the country.

A spokesman for the soldiers, Lt. Amadou Konare, appeared on state television and informed the country that the government and other institutions of power had been dissolved.

The fate of the president was not known, and several government ministers were arrested, according to news agency reports.

"The National Committee for the Establishment of Democracy (CNRDR) representing all the elements of the armed forces, defensive forces and security forces has decided to assume its responsibilities and end the incompetent and disavowed regime of Amadou Toumani Toure," Konare said on TV, reading from a statement.

"All the institutions of the republic are dissolved until further notice."

See the world: New York City? He hearts Benghazi

Every day, WorldNow highlights a remarkable photo from somewhere around the world. Today we picked this photo from Benghazi, Libya, where a man holds a placard reading "I (heart) Benghazi."

Thousands of Libyans marked the one-year anniversary of the uprising against strongman Moammar Kadafi this week with slogans, flags and fireworks in the capital, Tripoli, and the onetime opposition stronghold, Benghazi.

What celebrations were planned for Friday night? "I have no idea," a Libyan hip-hop artist told National Public Radio. "No one does. Libya has never done this before. We don't know how to celebrate an anniversary."

Kadafi was captured and killed in October, ending his iron-fisted reign. Libya's new rulers declared they were "liberated" and said they were on the path to become Libya's first representative democracy.

But Libya still has a ways to go. Amnesty International recently warned that the armed militias that helped oust Kadafi were repeating many of his abuses, carrying out revenge attacks against people they believed to be Kadafi supporters.

Libyans have also protested against the new transitional government, accusing it of incompetence.

ALSO:

Mexico to U.S.: 'No more weapons!'

The French say 'au revoir' to last francs

Libyan militias torture alleged Kadafi supporters, report says

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: Libyans wave national flags and brandish placards as they celebrate the first anniversary of the start of the Libyan uprising in Benghazi, Libya, on Friday. Credit: Mohammed Elryani / European Pressphoto Agency

Libyan militias torture alleged Kadafi supporters, report says

Armed militias that helped bring down Moammar Kadafi are now repeating many of his abuses, Amnesty International warned Thursday in a report that comes a year after the start of the uprising against the Libyan strongman.

The armed groups were heralded as heroes when Kadafi was toppled, but are now "largely out of control," the group wrote. Scores of people have been killed, thousands have been tortured and homes were looted and burned as militias carried out revenge attacks against alleged Kadafi supporters, it said.

Amnesty International also found that militias seized and detained people without legal justification, torturing them behind bars using electric shock, whips and metal chains.

The Times has witnessed rebels taking "justice" into their own hands, locking suspected Kadafi loyalists in underground tunnels.

One man said that he had been detained after a street scuffle. "They accused me of being a Kadafi supporter, and before I even started the court proceedings for breaking the man's nose, they took me to their brigade house and kept me there for two weeks of interrogation," a Tripoli telecommunications employee told The Times anonymously in December.

The Libyan transitional government told the militias to hand in their weapons and clear out in December, but the order was ignored. Amnesty International wrote that the new government "appears to have neither the authority nor the political will to rein in the militias."

Kadafi was captured and killed in October. Libyan officials said he had been placed in an ambulance that was caught in crossfire between rebels and pro-Kadafi forces, but human rights groups suspect his captors killed him.

Bringing the armed groups under control is one of the biggest challenges for the fledgling new Libyan government. Feuding militias have riddled the country with gunfire and bombings. If the militias line up with squabbling political factions, they could turn political conflicts into deadlier clashes, observers fear.

RELATED:

FULL COVERAGE: The death of Moammar Kadafi

Libya militias given deadline to disarm and leave Tripoli

Libya declares "liberation," path to elections, constitution

-- Emily Alpert in Los Angeles

Photo: Libyan militia members parade through Tripoli on Tuesday.This photo was not part of the Amnesty International report. Credit: Abdel Magid Al Fergany / Associated Press

Kadafi's daughter reportedly eyeing asylum in Israel

REPORTING FROM JERUSALEM -- Is Aisha Kadafi, daughter of the slain Libyan ruler Moammar Kadafi, considering seeking asylum in Israel? Unlikely as it seems, this may be the case.

The Israeli news website Walla, quoted a report published in Intelligence Online that said Aisha indicated to confidants from Europe that only in Israel would she feel safe and that she hoped to be allowed to live there. In August, she fled Libya for Algeria with her mother, two of her brothers and several other family members. Recently she expressed concern that her Algerian hosts may not be able to resist pressure from Libya's new government to extradite her to stand trial along with her brother, Saif al-Islam.

Aisha Kadafi already has at least one Israeli connection -- her attorney. Until recently, Nick Kaufman was a senior prosecutor with the Israeli Ministry of Justice. A former prosecutor at the United Nation's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Israeli lawyer was recently hired by Aisha and her brother Saadi to advance a probe into the killing of their father and another brother with the ICC, the International Criminal Court.

The family may have an indirect Israeli tie. Two years ago, Saif al-Islam reportedly negotiated with Israel through a mediator for a peaceful compromise concerning an aid ship he sent toward Gaza, where a naval blockade keeps vessels from docking. 

Aisha Kadafi's friends reportedly discouraged her from making an official request for asylum in Israel, which would probably balk at harboring the daughter of a slain Arab dictator.

But she might actually qualify for the automatic right to immigrate to the Jewish state. Rumors have persisted among Libyan Jews in Israel for years that Kadafi himself is Jewish.

Several elderly Israelis of the Jewish community that once lived in Libya have come forth in recent years with stories about the dictator's purported Jewish heritage. One of them is Gita Buaron, an Israeli woman approaching 80. She says Kadafi's mother was her great-aunt. As for his children, being half-Jewish may not cut it if it's the wrong half -- Judaism is acquired through matrilineal heritage (or conversion) -- but it's often sufficient for immigration under Israel's Law of Return legislation. 

RELATED:

Syria capital hit by massive bombings

Syria refugees find sanctuary in Libya

Iran naval chief says closing gulf to oil traffic would be easy

-- Batsheva Sobelman

Photo: Aisha Kadafi waves a flag at a pro-regime demonstration in March in Tripoli's Bab Azizia compound, where the Libyan leader was to speak. Credit: Mohamed Messara / European Pressphoto Agency

Mexico stops plot to smuggle Kadafi son into country

 
REPORTING FROM MEXICO CITY -- The Mexican government Wednesday exposed what it said was a plot to sneak a son of Moammar Kadafi into this country, a plan foiled when authorities busted an international smuggling ring.

Saadi Kadafi, the 38-year-old son of the deposed and slain dictator, got as far as Niger. But, authorities said, he was supposed to travel to Mexico as part of an elaborate scheme complete with new names, fake Mexican citizenship, a network of safe houses and private jets flying a route through Kosovo and Canada.

Interior Secretary Alejandro Poire said four people -- two Mexicans, a Canadian and a Dane -- formed the smuggling ring and were arrested last month. Saadi Kadafi was to be accompanied by three family members, and they were to be housed in a luxurious upscale resort area of Nayarit, on the Pacific coast, Poire said.

Kadafi, who is wanted by Interpol and accused by Libya's transitional rulers of attacks on civilians, remains in Niger and was not attempting to travel illegally, his attorney told wire services.

ALSO:

Syria's President Bashar Assad denies ordering crackdown

Early Egypt election results indicate Islamists swept first round

India backs away from retail reform that would let Wal-Mart in

-- Tracy Wilkinson

Photo: Saadi Kadafi speaking at a news conference in Tripoli, Libya, last year. Credit: Mahmud Turkia /AFP/Getty Images.

Prosecutor: Mercenaries aiding fugitive Kadafi son

REPORTING FROM BEIRUT -- The International Criminal Court warned Friday that authorities may  intercept any aircraft linked to a mercenary-backed scheme to shield Moammar Kadafi’s wanted son from arrest.

The ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said his office has had “informal contact” with Seif Islam Kadafi, once regarded as the heir apparent to his late father.

Mercenaries have offered to help the fugitive escape to an African nation that does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction, Moreno-Ocampo said. The prosecutor did not identify the nation.

Prosecutors are “exploring the possibility” of intercepting any aircraft in order to make an arrest, Moreno-Ocampo said.

NATO to end eventful, divisive Libya campaign

REPORTING FROM BEIRUT -- The North Atlantic Treaty Organization said Friday it will end its controversial Libya operations as of Monday, concluding a momentous seven-month air and sea campaign that played a central role in the ouster of Moammar Kadafi after more than four decades in power.

“We have fully complied with the historic mandate of the United Nations to protect the people of Libya,” NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement.

The decision had been expected and comes a day after the U.N. Security Council voted to end the mandate that was the legal basis for foreign intervention in Libya. Last week, NATO leaders said the mission was close to completion.

But Libya’s new rulers asked for an extension of air patrols, citing potential attacks by die-hard Kadafi loyalists. The U.N. decision ruled out further NATO action.

Moammar Kadafi's family reportedly will sue NATO

The family of deceased Libyan dictator Moammar Kadafi reportedly plans to file a war-crimes complaint against NATO for the role they believe the international military alliance played in the former leader’s death, a lawyer for the family told Agence France-Presse news service.

Marcel Ceccaldi, a French lawyer who previously worked for Kadafi's regime and now represents his family, told AFP on Wednesday that the complaint would be filed with the International Criminal Court in the Hague because the family believes a NATO strike on Kadafi’s convoy led directly to his death. 

Kadafi, who ruled Libya for more than four decades, was captured alive by revolutionary fighters on Thursday in his hometown of Surt, ending an eight-month war that cost more than 30,000 lives. The circumstances of his death remain unclear.

PHOTOS: Moammar Kadafi killed in fall of Surt

Libyan authorities have said he likely died in crossfire. Others, including the international rights advocacy group Human Rights Watch, believe Kadafi was executed. But Kadafi’s family is convinced that he  died as a result of NATO aircraft firing on his convoy as it fled Surt, Ceccaldi told AFP.