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Dakar Rally Canceled After Terror Threat
Friday, January 4, 2008 8:31 AM EST
The Associated Press
By ANGELA DOLAND
http://www.adelphia.net/news/read.php?id=14284427&ps=1012&lang=en&_LT=HOME_WLNWC01L1_UNEWS for all of story
PARIS (AP) — The annual Dakar Rally was canceled Friday on the eve of the race across the Sahara Desert because of terror threats and the recent killings of a French family in Mauritania blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants.
It was the first time in the 30-year history of the automobile, motorbike and truck race that it has been called off. In a statement, organizers blamed international tensions, the tourists' Dec. 24 murders and "threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organizations."
The race's central appeal — its course through African deserts, scrubland and savannas — is also its weak point, making it difficult to protect thousands of people as they traverse such remote regions.
"No other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken," organizers said.
France, where the race organizers are based, had urged the rally to avoid Mauritania after the four family members were killed in an attack blamed on a terror cell that uses the Mauritanian desert as a hideout.
Officials say the cell is linked to the Algeria-based al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, which has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks, including the Dec. 11 twin suicide bombings at U.N. offices and a government building in Algiers, which killed at least 37 people.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner "hailed the organizers' courage and wisdom" in calling off the rally, said a spokeswoman for his ministry, Pascale Andreani.
Friday, January 4, 2008 8:31 AM EST
The Associated Press
By ANGELA DOLAND
http://www.adelphia.net/news/read.php?id=14284427&ps=1012&lang=en&_LT=HOME_WLNWC01L1_UNEWS for all of story
PARIS (AP) — The annual Dakar Rally was canceled Friday on the eve of the race across the Sahara Desert because of terror threats and the recent killings of a French family in Mauritania blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants.
It was the first time in the 30-year history of the automobile, motorbike and truck race that it has been called off. In a statement, organizers blamed international tensions, the tourists' Dec. 24 murders and "threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organizations."
The race's central appeal — its course through African deserts, scrubland and savannas — is also its weak point, making it difficult to protect thousands of people as they traverse such remote regions.
"No other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken," organizers said.
France, where the race organizers are based, had urged the rally to avoid Mauritania after the four family members were killed in an attack blamed on a terror cell that uses the Mauritanian desert as a hideout.
Officials say the cell is linked to the Algeria-based al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa, which has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks, including the Dec. 11 twin suicide bombings at U.N. offices and a government building in Algiers, which killed at least 37 people.
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner "hailed the organizers' courage and wisdom" in calling off the rally, said a spokeswoman for his ministry, Pascale Andreani.
