Al Qaida for first time threatens attacks on China
Thursday, July 16, 2009 E-Mail this story Free Headline Alerts
LONDON Ñ The Al Qaida Organization in the Islamic Maghreb has warned that it would attack Chinese interests following Beijing's bloody crackdown on the Muslim minority in Urumqi.
The Algerian-based AQIM, which has so far limited operations to North Africa and parts of Europe, has blamed the Beijing regime for the detention of nearly 1,000 Uighur Muslims in separatist riots in July.
"Although AQIM appear to be the first arm of Al Qaida to officially state they will target Chinese interests, others are likely to follow," a report by the international consultancy Stirling Assynt said.
Stirling, based in London, said the first targets of AQIM could be the large Chinese labor population in Algeria. An estimated 50,000 Chinese were said to be employed in Algeria's construction and energy industries.
Over the last year, the Chinese expatriate presence in Algeria has come under several attacks attributed to AQIM. AQIM has warned foreigners to flee Algeria, but Al Qaida has never issued a formal threat against China.
"This threat should be taken seriously," Stirling said. "There is an increasing amount of chatter among jihadists who claim they want to see action against China. Some of these individuals have been actively seeking information on China's interests in the Muslim world, which they could use for targeting purposes."
The Chinese embassy in Algeria has already warned its nationals of AQIM attacks. The embassy urged all Chinese and related groups to bolster their security.
In June 2009, AQIM conducted a major strike on an Algerian security convoy that was protecting Chinese engineers on a highway project. In all, 24 Algerian military and security officers were killed and their weapons seized.
"On that occasion they did not attack the Chinese engineers because the target was the project on which they were working," Stirling, a risk consultancy, said. "Now, future attacks of this kind are likely to target security forces and Chinese engineers alike."
Several hundred thousand Chinese were also said to be working in other North African states. They were identified as Egypt, Libya and Sudan, with neighboring Yemen said to have a large expatriate population.
The report said Al Qaida does not want to open a new front with China. But Stirling said the Al Qaida leadership can not be seen as ignoring the Chinese crackdown on Uighurs Muslims, who comprise a majority in the Xinjiang region.
"But equally their sense of Muslim solidarity compels them to help and/or to be seen to be helping," the report said. "This is also a factor in helping the organisation regain support and funding from their global constituency."
China has accused Al Qaida of training and financing Muslim separatists, particularly those linked to the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. The United Nations and United States have also deemed the movement a terrorist organization.