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                   Clinton in Algeria for Talks on Mali, AQIM

   by Scott Stearns

   U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Algeria for talks on
   fighting terrorism in Africa's Sahel region.
   Talks with President Algerian Abdelaziz Bouteflika to restate U.S.
   position to back West African efforts against Islamic extremists in
   northern Mali.
   When a March coup toppled the government in Bamako, militant groups in
   the north imposed a strict version of Islamic law. The terrorist group,
   al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb - or AQIM - expanded its operations in
   northern Mali, moving to extend its reach throughout the Sahel.
   Clinton says AQIM is working with other extremists to undermine
   democratic transitions in North Africa and played a role in the
   September attack on the U.S. mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi
   that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
   U.S. officials traveling with the secretary of state say there is a
   strong recognition throughout the Sahel that Algeria must be a central
   part of both combating AQIM and ending Mali's partition.
   "A whole range of countries in the region really look to Algeria for
   leadership on this," says one U.S. official. "They know Algeria has
   unique capability that no one else in the region really has, including
   the strength of their military and intelligence gathering."
   The Economic Community of West African States is working with Mali's
   transitional leaders on plans for a regional force that would help
   Mali's military retake northern areas controlled by Islamic militia and
   ethnic-Tuareg rebels.
   The model for that West African force is an East African force in
   Somalia -- an African-led mission backed by the international community
   in training, intelligence and logistics.
   A senior State Department official says Secretary Clinton wants to hear
   from President Bouteflika about how Algeria might join the United
   States, France and other countries in supporting a West African force
   for Mali.
   A senior-level American official says the United States and Algeria
   have "an awful lot at stake here, an awful lot of common interests".
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/clinton-in-algeria-for-talks-on-mali-
   aqim/1535141.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/clinton-in-algeria-for-talks-on-mali-aqim/1535141.html