Dec. 10, 2011
A splinter group of AQIM confirms that it is holding the three aid workers kidnapped on Oct. 23 near the Tindouf refugee camps in Algeria. The group, linked by some to al Sahraoui, calls itself « Unity Movement for Jihad in West Africa. »xxv
Nov. 30, 2011
The US House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism & Intelligence hears testimony that AQIM is expanding its ties in the Sahel with the Polisario, as well as militant Nigerian group Boko Haram and Somalia-based al-Shabaab.xxvi
Nov. 28, 2011
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague says AQIM’s expanding terrorist ties to other militant groups in the Sahel could have a “profoundly destabilizing” effect on a region already rocked by the Arab Spring.xxvii
Nov. 24, 2011
AQIM kidnaps two French tourists from their hotel at night in eastern Mali, claiming they are spies. Officials later report that the abductions were coordinated with the Polisario.xxviii
Nov. 7, 2011
Algerian Chief of Staff General Qaid Saleh reportedly reprimands Polisario chief Mohammed Abdul Aziz for allowing an al-Qaeda presence inside the Polisario-controlled camps in Tindouf.xxix
Nov. 6, 2011
Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin cites alarm at AQIM kidnappings in the Polisario camps. “This is a catastrophe waiting to happen. The need to empty the camps, deprive AQIM of a supply of victims and accomplices, and restore order has never been greater.”xxx
Oct. 26, 2011
Spanish daily El Pais reports on the Tindouf abductions, noting that, “to cross the checkpoints of the Algerian army and Polisario, kidnappers benefited from support of Polisario’s military.”xxxi
Oct. 25, 2011
Spain requests a UN security mission to the Polisario-run camps. “We’ve asked the UN to send a mission to Algeria to assess the security situation in the camps of Tindouf” – Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez. xxxii
Oct. 23, 2011
An AQIM splinter group kidnaps three Western aid workers from the Polisario-run camps in Algeria, reportedly with Polisario-insider help. “Unarmed AQIM militants entered the Sahrawi refugee camp in Tindouf, western Algeria, where sympathizers of the Polisario Front gave them weapons and helped them seek out the hostages.”xxxiii