INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The statement which was circulated on social media singled out France
(Representational)NOUAKCHOTT: An al Qaeda affiliate threatened attacks on Western companies' operations
across North and West Africa on Tuesday, calling them "legitimate targets" and urging Muslims to boycott them.Al Qaeda in the Islamic
Maghreb (AQIM) has launched raids on installations in the past, in particular in Algeria where it carried out a major assault on a gas plant
in 2013 that killed dozens of workers.Its fighters have also carried out high-profile attacks on hotels frequented by foreigners in Mali,
Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast."This statement calls to boycott all Western companies and foundations that operate in the Islamic Maghreb
and the countries of the Sahel, and gives a warning to them that they are legitimate target for the mujahideen," it said.The statement,
which was circulated on social media and translated by the extremism watchdog SITE, singled out France - the former colonial power in much
of North and West Africa - and its allies in the region."We have decided to strike that which prolongs the continuity of these agent
governments and enables the French occupier to provide a lavish life and prosperity to its people," it said.The region has witnessed a rise
in Islamist militancy since an uprising in Libya toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, sparking chaos during which armed factions
looted government weapons stocks.France led a military intervention in Mali in 2013 to drive back Islamist groups that had seized the
country's desert north a year earlier.Paris still has thousands of troops deployed in West Africa's arid Sahel region as part of an
operation to stamp out militant groups, and the United States is also ramping up its presence in the region.© Thomson Reuters 2018(This
story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
