فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Cherkaoui Habboub, Director of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), has warned of the increasing threat posed by terrorist organizations in the Sahel region, highlighting the strong connections between these separatist groups and cross-border terrorism. In an interview with the French magazine Jeune Afrique, he stated that extremist organizations have found in the region a “safe haven,” noting that about 100 members of the Polisario Front have joined terrorist groups operating there.
Habboub explained that the intersection of separatist movements and terrorism represents a serious threat to the security and stability of Sahel countries. He pointed out that weak border controls fuel various forms of smuggling and open the door to violent terrorist operations. He cited specific examples, such as Adnan Abu Walid Al-Sahrawi, a former leader of the “ISIS in the Greater Sahara” group, who had previously been part of the Polisario Front before leading terrorist operations in the region.
In response to a question about whether Moroccan security agencies have evidence linking the Polisario Front with extremist groups, Habboub confirmed that the Tindouf camps have become a true breeding ground for extremism. He explained that these camps have turned into a haven for radical elements recruiting vulnerable youth, exploiting their social and psychological fragility. He stated that several individuals from these camps have been involved in terrorist attacks or planned them in neighboring countries.
The BCIJ Director also highlighted several cases that reveal the nature of these connections, including the involvement of the separatist figure Omar Ould Hamaha in the kidnapping of foreign nationals for “Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb” in 2008 and 2011, as well as the arrest of a young man from the Tindouf camps in Laayoune in 2018. The latter had been recruited by an extremist imam and was planning to carry out attacks within Morocco.
Habboub also mentioned the dismantling of several terrorist cells between 2008 and 2015, including the “New Al-Murabitoun Cell,” which included separatist elements, the “Sahara Jihad Front Cell,” which was planning to sabotage the railway line, and the “Caliphate Soldiers in Morocco – Laayoune Province” cell, which included individuals linked to the Polisario Front.
The security official stressed that the situation in the Sahel requires intensive regional and international cooperation to address the growing threats of terrorism and separatism, which now feed from the same sources and draw on the same extremist ideologies.
Source: Fes News Media
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