US Army General Carter F. Ham hails Algeria's pivotal role in counter-terrorism

The Commander of the US

military's Africa Command (Africom) General Carter F. Ham has expressed the United States' full readiness to further bolster cooperation with Algeria in the fight against terrorism.

• Speaking to reporters outside the Algiers counter-terrorism conference which opened on Wednesday, General Ham also highlighted "Algeria's pivotal role in the sustained struggle against the nefarious scourge of terrorism".
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• He also said the US had real concerns about weapons from Libya ending up in the hands of al-Qaeda terrorists.
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• "There is a very real concern for all the regional partners, and the United States shares this concern, about the proliferation of weapons from Libya to other places, including those under the control of al-Qaeda and others," General Carter F Ham stressed.
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• "To control this proliferation of weapons will require the co-operative efforts of all involved and I have been encouraged to note the meetings that have occurred between Algeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger," he added.
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• Algeria has said it believes the chaos inside Libya, and the large quantities of weapons circulating there, is being exploited by al-Qaeda's North African branch, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
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• A senior Algerian security source told reporters that convoys of pick-up trucks carrying weapons had been crossing the border from Libya to Niger, and from there to northern Mali where AQIM has bases in the sub-sahara regions.
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• For his part, Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci underlined on Wednesday the major scope of the international conference on the struggle against terrorism that kicked off in Algiers on Wednesday, stressing that it was aimed at enhancing cooperation among Sahel countries and "their international partners."

• Mr Medelci, in a statement to journalists on the sidelines of the broad gathering, expressed hope that the Algiers conference would result in reaching a solid basis for closer and fruitful cooperation among these neighbouring countries, namely Algeria, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

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  "We are pleased to host leaders of a number of nations that desire to contribute to efforts for addressing topical issues such as sustainable development and security, thus it is a crucial opportunity for all sides to expound their views and plans in this respect," Medelci said.