Fight against terrorism: Interpol seizes tens of thousands of explosives in the Sahel

The operation was led by Interpol and the United Nations.

Here, a UN armored vehicle patrols the surroundings of the Malian town of Menaka, in an area particularly affected by jihadists and all kinds of trafficking, March 14, 2020 © Souleymane Ag Anara / AFP

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An operation to fight against arms trafficking networks that took place in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire helped to get hold of tens of thousands of explosives, but also a large amount of contraband fuel, Interpol and the United Nations announced Monday. 

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The 260 men and women of the operation called KAFO deployed from November 30 to December 6 in the airports, ports and land borders of four West African countries, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire.

The results of the seizure show more than 40,000 sticks of dynamite and detonators intended for clandestine mining activities, a new funding channel for

terrorist organizations,

according to Interpol.

#NEWS: Operation Kafo II intercepts illicit firearms, ammunition & explosives, disrupts trafficking networks used to supply #terrorists across West Africa and the Sahel.https: //t.co/po8kmpLiXP

- INTERPOL (@INTERPOL_HQ) December 21, 2020

Investigators also got hold

of guns and thousands of ammunition

, but also 60,000 liters of smuggled fuel in Mali and Niger.

This fuel from Nigeria is suspected of supplying

al-Qaeda networks

.

Because this is the primary objective of KAFO, which means "to act together" in Dioula and Bambara: to

fight against terrorism

.

It is in this context that the investigators targeted arms traffickers suspected of participating in the financing of terrorist organizations.

All these seizures allowed the opening of several investigations in order to prosecute the people arrested during the operation, but also to trace the supply chains.

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To read also

: Sahel: where do the weapons and ammunition come from?

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  • Sahel

  • Defense

  • Terrorism

  • Mali

  • Niger

  • Burkina Faso

  • Ivory Coast

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