Al-Qaeda’s franchise in North Africa AQIM has “increased its linkages with the Polisario Front,” wrote Peter Pham, director of the Atlantic Council’s Michael S. Ansari Africa Center.

“In late October, three aid workers—an Italian and two Spaniards—were seized by AQIM militants, aided by Polisario sympathizers, inside a camp administered by the separatists near the Algerian town of Tindouf,” he added.

This growing connection, he noted, “comes as no surprise given that the large numbers of idle young fighters with no prospects in camps presents the terrorist group with a ready pool of potential recruits, both for its military operations as well as the criminal activities it is increasingly involved in.”

Although the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects a growth rate up to 6 pc in Africa for the year 2012, the fact remains that the increasing activities of its terrorist groups may negatively affect the confidence of foreign investors, who are beginning to realize the potential of the Continent.

 - News on Western Sahara issue / Corcas -