Mauritania's independent news agency Al-Akhbar reported June 26 that security forces had arrested four men supposedly linked to "al-Qaeda in the Maghreb" in raids on some Internet cafes in the the capital, Nouakchott. The detainees are said to be four foreigners (two Moroccans and two Algerians) and a Saudi national of Mauritanian origin. The arrests coincided with the opening of a trial of 11 detainees accused of links to al-Qaeda in the Maghreb. (BBC Monitoring, AKI, June 26)

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has accused UK Prime Minister Tony Blair of overriding the devolved powers of the Scottish parliament in negotiating a deal with Libya on prisoner transfer. In a statement to Scotland's parliament, Salmond said that it was "unacceptable" that Blair had not consultated with the body prior to signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Mommar Qadaffi during his tour of North Africa last week. "Any agreements which may flow from it are emphatically within the remit and authority of this parliament," Salmond said.

Libya announced May 29 it will sign a $900-million exploration deal with BP, marking a return by the UK oil giant to the North African country after a 33-year absence. The announcement came ahead of a visit to Tripoli by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is starting a tour of Africa before he leaves office next month. "BP will be announcing that they're going back into Libya," a spokesperson for Blair said, confirming that the outgoing premier was due to hold talks with Libyan leader Moammar Qadaffi.

Even as UN-mediated negotations are set to begin, Morocco has unleashed a new wave of repression against advocates of independence for Western Sahara. The new crackdown began May 7, when Saharawi students at the university of Agadir, Morocco, were brutally beaten and arrested. On May 17, police clashed with student protesters demanding independence for the occupied territory at Rabat University, with 15 arrested and some students injured. The clash came after protesters defied a police order to end a week-long sit-in at the entrance to the university. Brahim Elansari, a member of the Saharawi Association for Human Rights Victims (ASVDH), was arrested Sunday afternoon after police stopped his car in Laayoune, Western Sahara's main city, said the organization's president, Brahim Dahane. Fellow activist Hassana Douihi, who was riding with Elansari, was also arrested. Shortly afterward, police arrested Naama Asfari, president of the Paris-based Committee for the Respect of Human Freedoms and Rights in Western Sahara. (Infoshop News, May 22)

Mohamed Meziane, president of Algeria's energy parastatal Sonatrach, meeting with US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman in Washington, said he wants to triple natural gas exports to the US from 4 billion to 12 billion cubic metres per year by 2015. Algeria is also seeking technical assistance from the US in developing its nuclear capabilities.

Tuareg rebel leader Moktar Roman of the Mouvement des Nigeriens pour la Justice (MNJ) spoke to the UN news agency IRIN May 17 about the reasons behind the resurgence of armed attacks in the north of Niger this year. "The movement was created because nothing has been done by the government," Roman said. "There is no work, no schools, not even drinking water in all Niger. It's terrible, it's a genocide, and the government is corrupt, taking money from people and leaving them to live in poverty." He insisted the group is fighting for all citizens of Niger, which the UN considers the poorest and least developed country in the world. "It is not just a Tuareg movement," he said.

Algerian troops killed 13 Islamist fighters east of Algiers May 14, local media reported. Special forces backed by helicopters killed 11 militants said to belong to the "al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb" in an offensive on rebel hideouts in Tebessa province. In a separate operation, the army killed two Islamist rebels in Boumerdes. The attack in Tebessa near the border with Tunisia was launched after security forces received word that 20 rebels were preparing to transport large quantities of arms to Boumerdes and the neighboring province of Tizi Ouzou, also the scene of recent clashes. (Reuters, May 15)

Algerian security forces claim to have intercepted three Libyan men, on their way to join "Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb," the terrorist network's wing in North Africa. [AlJazeera, May 12] Three Algerian soldiers were killed by a bomb blast in the country-side east of Algiers [May 14]. The Algerian army has stepped up its assault on the country's Islamist militants, and now faces sharper reprisals. [Reuters, May 14]