Nouakchott, Mauritanian - Mauritanian religious leaders have condemned the ongoing war waged by Mali’s interim government and France to recapture Northern Mali from Islamist groups, PANA learnt from religious sources.
The groups, affiliated to the Al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb, had been in control of the region for nine months, the sources said.
In a press statement, the religious leaders denounced what they called 'a war waged by the enemies of Islam whose main objective is to take the control of Northern Mali'.
They therefore urged all Muslims “to unite as a single force against the aggressors', warning the Mauritanian government against any kind of support to Mali’s interim government and the French forces on the ground.
Mauritania and Mali share some 2,000 kilometres of borders, which have strong sociological and human impacts on the conflict.
However, the Mauritanian president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, an advocate for political dialogue in resolving the Malian crisis, had announced his willingness to support the operation there, dubbed ‘Serval’, should Bamako ask for assistance.
Aziz made the announcement in Dubai at the end of a meeting with French president François Hollande on the sidelines of the World summit on future energy.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Opposition Coordination has ruled out the idea of deploying Mauritanian troops to Mali.
Pana 17/01/2013