Mali Islamists threaten to “open the doors of hell” on France
Malian troops check bushes on July 18, 2011, three weeks after a military raid dislodged Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghrab (AQIM) from its newly-built base in the Wagoudou forest. Situated 500km (300 miles) north-east of the Malian capital Bamako, on the border with Mauritania, the Wagadou Forest was to be used by AQIM as a base from which to carry out attacks in the region and store heavy weapons.
Al Qaeda-liked Islamists in Mali threatened today to "open the doors of hell" on French citizens, the Associated Press reported. The militants made the threatening statement in response to a United Nations resolution proposed by France. The resolution calls for a plan to oust the militants from Mali and expresses alarm over human rights abuses committed by the terrorists.
In a public statement, a spokesman for the terrorist group, naturally, made threats to commit more human rights abuses. "If [French President Francois Hollande] continues to throw oil on the fire, we will send him the pictures of dead French hostages in the coming days," Oumar Ould Hamaha, a spokesman for Islamist group MUJWA, told Reuters. Hamaha was referencing six French people who are currently being held hostage by Mali terrorists.
"He will not be able to count the bodies of French expatriates across West Africa and elsewhere," Hamaha added.
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The renewed threat against France also came ahead of a summit in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where President Hollande is expected to push for armed intervention against the Islamists through an African-led force, RT.com reported.
Hollande dismissed the MUJWA threats later today. "We have always said that we would always do everything to secure the release of our hostages," he announced at a news conference, according to Reuters.
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