French report accuses Qatar of financing terrorism in the Sahel
French website Blast has republished an official Qatari document which it said “exposes the double game of Qatar and its support for terrorist groups that France has been facing for 10 years in Mali and Niger”.
The report accused Doha of being involved in the financing of terrorism in the Sahel region of Africa.
The document, or rather the 2013 official e-mail message, affirmed “the dual role played by Doha and its support for terrorist groups active between Mali and Niger, in particular al-Qaeda in the Sahel region of Africa, while claiming to stand with France in the face of terrorist groups in Africa”, the French website said.
Qatar denies such information repeatedly, asserting that it is combating terrorism and drying up its sources of funding.
In a previous denial of similar accusations of Qatar funding terrorist groups in Syria, according to reports published by British newspapers, the Qatari government liaison office said: “The serious unfounded allegations about the State of Qatar are based on misleading claims and distortion of facts”.
The document published by the French website is an official email that has been circulated among high-ranking authorities in Qatar “as the missing link in accusing Qatar of financing terrorism in the North African region,” according to the report.
The document is a letter from the former Qatari Minister of Economy and Finance (1998 to 2013) Yousef Hussain Kamal to Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al-Thani, former Director (2008 to 2013) of the Office of the former Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad ben Khalifa Al-Thani, informing her that the urgent financial assistance directed by the Emir of Qatar to the Islamic opposition movements in northern Mali and the Sahel-Sahara region, estimated at $15 million, was delivered under the item of humanitarian assistance.
The document, dated 9 January 2011, comes in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of two French journalists previously.
French website “Le Canard enchainé” has published similar information recently under the title “Our friend Qatar.. It finances terrorism in Mali.”
France spends about 1 billion euros a year in its military operations in Africa to fight terrorist organizations. In addition, 50 French soldiers have been killed recently in battles and military operations in Africa.
