Azawad citizens launch resistance movement

16/05/2012

Northern Mali residents are prepared to mount a resistance to the armed Islamist and al-Qaeda fighters that have occupied their towns for nearly two months, a new citizens' group announced on Tuesday (May 15th).

Faced with "daily insults and humiliations of every kind" and "feeling...abandoned by political and military authorities, populations have ended up by organising themselves to resist", AFP quoted the Northern Citizens' Collective (COREN) as saying in a statement.

COREN, which groups several organisations, assured "all populations of the north of its determination to back them up" and urged people to "resist by any means".

On Monday, hundreds of Gao residents rallied against the town's occupation by Ansar al-Din and al-Qaeda.

"People are waiting for the slightest provocation to go back into the streets," IT worker Abdoulaye Babalaye said on Tuesday.

Algeria confirms election results

16/05/2012

Algeria on Tuesday (May 15th) announced the final results from the May 10th parliamentary elections, Tout sur l'Algerie reported.

The voter turnout was 43.14%. The constitutional council also confirmed the victory of the National Liberation Front (FLN), which won 221 out of 462 seats in the assembly.

Algerian Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia's National Rally for Democracy (RND) was second with 70 seats. The Islamist Green Algeria Alliance, comprising the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), al-Islah and Ennahda, took 47 seats.

AQIM assassin loses Mauritania death sentence appeal

16/05/2012

A Nouakchott appellate court on Tuesday (May 15th) upheld the death sentence of Mohamed Abdallahi Ould Ahmednah, convicted last year for the 2009 murder of American NGO worker Christopher Leggett. Didi Ould Bezeid and Mohamed Mahmoud Ould Khouna, who received prison sentences for providing logistical support to the assassin, also lost their appeals.

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility for killing the 39-year-old language and IT teacher in the Nouakchott neighbourhood of Ksar.

Tripoli military chief Belhadj enters politics

16/05/2012

Tripoli Military Council head Abdel Hakim Belhadj on Tuesday (May 15th) announced that he had resigned in order to participate in Libya's June 19th constituent assembly elections. He explained that he exited the post Monday night because the military council had completed its mission.

"The Council has helped integrate thousands of revolutionaries into the national army and interior ministry," he said, adding that the time had come for state "institutions to take charge of security".

Belhadj, who said he would launch his "Hizb al-Watan" (Homeland Party) next week, called on former revolutionaries to participate in politics. The new party, which will include known political figures, already has "a presence in all Libyan cities", he told Magharebia.

The former Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) commander is one of the most prominent Islamist leaders in Libya.

Tunisia denies entry to radical Moroccan preachers

16/05/2012

Tunisian authorities barred two Moroccan radical preachers from entering Tunisian territory, interior ministry spokesman Khaled Tarrouche said on Tuesday (May 15th).

Hassan Kettani and Omar Hadouchi were stopped at the Tunis-Carthage airport on Monday night. A Bizerte organisation had invited the preachers to present a series of lectures in the town.

The two Moroccan preachers were sentenced for "indoctrination of [the] Islamists" who committed the deadly 2003 Casablanca attacks. They were serving 20-year prison terms before being pardoned on February 2nd, 2012.

Libya voter registrations top 2 million

16/05/2012

Libya's High National Electoral Commission (HNEC) on Monday (May 14th) reported that voter registrations had exceeded 2 million.

"We're very happy with the awareness of the Libyan people," HNEC member Issa Ashur told Magharebia. "With this, we've exceeded two-thirds of the target number."

Some 1,700 candidates have also registered for the June 19th elections.

IMF commends Mauritania economic stability

16/05/2012

Mauritania's estimated GDP growth was four per cent in 2011, AFP reported, citing an International Monetary Fund (IMF) statement released on Tuesday (May 15th).

Mauritania withstood the "acute drought and the slowdown in external demand", the IMF said, adding that despite higher food and petrol prices, inflation was kept under control at 5.7%.

Strong performance of mining exports also saw foreign exchange reserves double to nearly 400 million euros.

A recovery in agricultural production and an expected uptick in activity in the public works sector will help growth reach 5.5% in 2012, the IMF said.

Marrakech hosts MENA conference on renewable energies

16/05/2012

The fifth MENA Renewable Energy Conference opened on Tuesday (May 15th) in Marrakech, APS reported. Some 500 policymakers, experts and investors from the region are attending the two-day event. The agenda includes workshops on strengthening regional partnerships.