Briefings
Suspected Al-Qaeda leaders killed in Saudi Arabia
Up to 14 Islamist militants including a number of Al-Qaeda members have been killed in three days of intensive gun fights in Saudi Arabia, the most violent clashes between Islamists and security forces in the country for two years.
The battle began on 3 April in Al-Rass, 200 kilometres north of the capital, Riyadh, after security forces raided a house where suspected Al-Qaeda members were believed to be sheltering. Among the dead is Saleh al-Oufi, who took over as Al-Qaeda leader in the kingdom last June; he was number four on Riyadh’s list of most-wanted rebels.
| Although reports are as yet unconfirmed, Dubai’s Al-Arabiya television also named two of the dead as Saudi Saud al-Otaibi and Moroccan Abdel Karim al-Mejati. The latter was thought to be behind the Casablanca bombing of May 2003. If the reports are true, that leaves only four out of 26 of Saudi Arabia’s most-wanted militants at large: the others have been captured or killed. | |
Setbacks
Authorities in Saudi Arabia are heralding the killing as a major setback for the terrorist organisation’s operations in the oil-rich country, but Middle East analyst Khalid Amayreh says they are exaggerating the impact of this 'triumph'.
“It’s only a success for the time being; in the long run, this insurrection is going to continue. The factors contributing to this are still there, and I think the situation in Saudi Arabia will exacerbate and deteriorate markedly in the next few months.”
Dissatisfied with status quo
It isn’t known precisely how many people are involved in the insurrection; over the past two years, 90 civilians and 39 members of the security forces have been killed, and many believe there is a good deal of popular support for the rebels among the Saudi population. Mr Amayreh thinks this stems from discontent with the political status quo:
“The terrorists thrive on public disenchantment and indignation vis vis the Saudi government [...] The public support is not for the violence itself. The support comes from the widespread dissatisfaction with the Saudi autocracy. Saudi Arabia has a one-family rule and it’s very anachronistic; people in this age are not willing any longer to accept this kind of anachronistic government where every aspect of life is dictated by an unelected king.”
Moderation
And he believes that the rebels who are battling against the Saudi rulers may compromise or moderate their approach, if the government agreed to soften its authoritarianism:
| Saleh al-Oufi had previously been reported dead, but then appeared on a website, giving his support to al-Qaeda attacks in the region. | |
“The Saudi government policy of dictating every aspect of life is seen by many as conspicuously incompatible with the various teachings of Islam. I believe that if the Saudi government decided to introduce genuine democratic reforms and allow a modicum of public participation in governance, public support for these militants would decrease significantly.”
More friction between US and Venezuela
Pressure is mounting on the relationship between Washington and Caracas, as accusations fly back and forth during US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld’s tour of Latin America. He is there to talk about the need for closer cooperation in the fight against drugs and terrorism.
Earlier this month, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he has evidence of US plans to assassinate him, while Mr Rumsfeld this week expressed grave doubts about Venezuela’s plan to purchase 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles from Russia, saying that it may have a destabilising effect on the region.
| As well as 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles, Venezuela is also said to be considering buying Russian MiG29 fighter jets. | |
US impertinence
Venezuelan authorities have dismissed Mr Rumsfeld’s comments as ‘impertinence’. They say the guns are to replace ageing army stock, and claim that Washington merely feels put-out because Caracas has chosen to buy arms from Russia and not the US. Washington, however, is afraid the guns will fall into the hands of left-wing guerillas in neighbouring Colombia. Mr Rumsfeld said:
“I can’t imagine what’s going to happen to 100,000 AK-47s. I can’t imagine why Venezuela needs 100,000 AK-47s Certainly, I’m concerned.”
Well-founded
Alain Deletroz, a Latin American specialist with the International Crisis Group, believes Mr Rumsfeld’s fears are well-founded:
“Mr Rumsfeld is asking the question that many among us ask ourselves also: why is Venezuela making this huge purchase of arms in a country whose borders are poorly patrolled right now? Next door you have a huge guerilla “ war that’s been going on for 40 years. We know that if you look at all the borders of Colombia, it’s no secret that the Venezuelan border is the most poorly patrolled one Nobody understands why Venezuela is making these kinds of purchases think there is a lot of suspicion not only in Washington, but also in certain circles in Bogota that this is happening.”
| Russia defends its trade with Venezuela, saying that it has not violated any international laws with the sale of the assault rifles. ‘As far as we know, Venezuela is not in a state of war or conflict with any Latin American country,’ said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. | |
Preoccupation
Although Mr Deletroz has faith in the Venezuelan president’s integrity, he nevertheless thinks the chances of weapons falling into the wrong hands is high:
“I personally believe that President Chavez is intelligent enough to avoid this happening. But my fear is that if you get 100,000 AK47s into a place like Venezuela, you can expect that part of this purchase might end up in the hands of potentially dangerous groups active in the region, so it is a subject of preoccupation for a group like us.”
Hypocrisy
Some people see Mr Rumsfeld’s comments as an example of the US meddling in the internal politics of another country, while itself trading arms around the world. Whle Alain Deletroz understands this point of view, he believes this criticism applies to other countries, too:
| Mr Rumsfeld’s comments have raised questions about whether Washiington is jeopardising it multi-billion dollar oil-links with Caracas; Venezuela is the world’s fifth biggest oil exporter and the US it’s biggest customer. | |
“We know that among the weapon producers there is a pretty big deal of hypocrisy. If you think of the US, France and Russia together, these countries, for example, have never been eager to and have never accepted the marking of small weapons [with identity numbers]. There is a campaign going on for that now.”
