From well informed sources in Tindouf camps, the Libyan arms that Mokhtar Belmokhtar, one of AQMI’s emirs, has stated to have acquired, have been taken back from Libya by Polisario mercenaries who were fighting on the sides of Kadhafi. Among the arms brought from the Libyan arsenal by Polisario elements, there are sophisticated arms, in particular, the dangerous ground-to-air carried missils , too much looked for by the terrorist groups, according to the same sources. A part of these arms was entrusted to terrorist groups pulling back in the desert, particularly, to the Units led by the Algerian Mokhtar Belmokhtar. This sub-contracting operation is a practice widely used by the Polisario and the AQMI groups, namely, in the kidnapping of hostages, drug traffic and transport of sub-Saharan illegal migrants, according to the same sources. But the acquisition of Libyan arms by the AQMI jihadist groups was an exceptional operation taking into consideration the collected arms. The operation was led in many phases and was made easier by the massive presence in Libya of Polisario elements during the eight months fight between the rebels and Kadhafi’s troups.
This presence was confirmed in different Western reports, namely those of NATO. In the depth of the war, the Atlantic organization has stated the payment by Kadhafi of millions of dollars to make the Polisario’s mercenaries join him and fight on his side. Furthermore, the active complicity between Polisario elements and AQMI, which is essentially constituted of fighters of the former Algerian GSPC, has been confirmed by the recent kidnapping of three Western humanitarian workers, within the Polisario HQ, especially that the haunt of the separatist movement, which disputes with Morocco over the Western Sahara region, is located in an area of the Algerian territory kept under strong control. It is not also a hazard if all the kidnappings of the Westerners operated these last years in Mali, Mauritania and Niger were achieved by Algerians belonging to the former GSPC, and usually with the precious assistance of the Polisario.
