Members from al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM] face a power struggle Algiers – Hocine Bousalah A former al-Qaeda member testified in court on Monday of the power struggle currently breaking up al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb [AQIM]. He told Adrar Criminal Court that a regional chief in the “Sahara Emirate” [a name AQIM gave to the area], Abdelhamid Abu Zeid, had assassinated members of his group whom he suspected of plotting against him.
The 31-year old, nicknamed Hamma, told the court he had been an operative in the Furqan Squadron led by Yahia Abu el-Hammam and operating under the Tarek ben Ziyad Brigade in north Mali, controlled by Abu Zeid.
The operative turned himself to the authorities in June at Bordj Badji Mokhtar in the province of Adrar after escaping across the mountains in north Mali heavily armed.
He said his move was prompted by death threats from al-Qaeda. He also said he became involved with the militant group in 2009 after being forced to join by his uncle, al-Mannan weld Ali who had been active for years in the al-Furqan Squadron.
He also told the court that Abu Hammam had personally entrusted him with the charge of supplying the al-Qaeda-affiliated militant groups in north Mali with fuel and provisions.
Hamma denied taking part in an armed assault on a military barracks in the city of Timbuktu Mali last March.
The criminal court gave Hamma a suspended sentence of three years’ imprisonment and fined him 100,000 Algerian Dinars [about $1300] for belonging to a terrorist group active outside Algerian borders and carrying a military-grade weapon without a license.
In related developments, local sources in the east of Algeria have reported that five young men from the el-Khroub district in the province of Constantine joined the militant groups’ strongholds over the past week.
A man in his forties was injured on Monday when a bomb planted in the secluded el-Wehch Mountain exploded. Armed militants groups were previously active in this area, where they frequently planted bombs and homemade landmines.