Central Training...
The Islamists destroyed heritage buildings, ancient mausoleums located in Timbuktu, treasured by the people of Mali, and representing world heritage sites. They destroyed part of an ancient mosque. These are architectural treasures of ancient Islamic tradition that are irreplaceable. Irreplaceable also the ancient manuscripts that were destroyed as representative of idolatrous worship, claimed to be haram by the upholders of fundamentalist Islamist traditions.Forbidden by an Islam that permits no permutations, no other versions, however ancient, of the purity of Islamic worship. What al-Qaeda's northern African branch did not destroy was a two-story building purpose-built as a military training centre for the Malian military, in that fabled ancient city. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb recognized its potential for use as a sophisticawted training centre. And saw great value in maintaining it for their own purposes.
They operated this training centre for nine months, gathering to it recruits from across the Muslim world, prepared to assume their place as jihadists for the greater glory of Islam. There were Malians, Pakistanis, Algerians and Muritanians, along with Nigerians, members of Boko Haram. Mali's security forces' loss in the facilities represented AQIM's gain.
For the Malian army it was local headquarters of the Gendarmerie Nationale, a paramilitary unit. For AQIM it was a fortuitous training centre, ringed by a perimter fence topped with barbed wire. A valuable hub for the training of AQIM's new recruits. "Every day, new recruits would come; perhaps one or two, or more, every day", said Faraj Mohammed Arbi, a man from Timbuktu who worked there as a cook and cleaner.
There were two Algerians, one as commander in charge, the other his deputy responsible for weapons training. A Pakistani was placed in charge of maintaining the armoury. The armoury included heavy machine guns and AK-47 assault rifles, along with Toyota Land Cruisers and other 4x4s. The Pakistani's specialty was fitting machine guns to the vehicles.
There was a rigid protocol followed every day in the training camp. Prayers at 5 a.m., then physical exercise in military uniforms of desert print camouflage carrying AK047s, running five laps of the camp's perimeter fence, then press-ups. Prayers again at 7 a.m., then target practise followed by marksmanship with AK-47s and heavy machine guns.
A break until prayers at 12:30 p.m. followed by lunch and formal lessons of religious and ideological indoctrination. Prayers at 4 p.m. and again at 7 p.m., when experienced trainees would guard the centre overnight. It is no longer in operation. Wrecked, shattered, pulverized by two French bombs during the initial attacks by French combat planes over Timbuktu on January 10.
By then it had been emptied of recruits, the lights switched on by the evacuees to invite French bombs as a diversion while the Islamists made themselves scarce.
Labels: Armaments, Conflict, Defence, France, Islamism, Mali, Security
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, February 12, 2013
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