Brussels, 24/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - According to EU Anti-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove, Libya might become an arsenal for Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and attract the anti-Western international jihad.
“We have several areas of concern”, de Kerchove is quoted by AFP as telling a European Parliament committee. “Libya and Yemen, having become weak, tribal states, could turn into failed states and become attractive to the international jihad”¸ he said. “Arms stolen from Libyan arsenals, some of which are highly sophisticated, could fall into the hands of AQIM”, he added. De Kerchove also spoke of the dismantling of the intelligence services in Tunisia and Egypt “because they were the arms of repressions” and “the release of jihadis who are still active”. (L.C./transl.rt)