Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack: When France accused Morocco

Tags: Charlie Hebdo, France, Morocco, Yemen, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Moroccan Embassy in Sana’a, Franck Gellet, attack, terrorism

On January 7, 2015, the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo was hit by the deadliest of the three attacks in January 2015 carried out in France. The perpetrators, brothers Chérif and Saïd Kouachi, claimed allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which later officially claimed responsibility for the attack.

Three days later, on January 10, specifically, hacker Chris Coleman, a French intelligence officer, openly accused the Alaouite kingdom of being behind the criminal act targeting a newspaper known for its publications denouncing human rights violations in Western Sahara by Rabat. Under the title « Charlie Hebdo Attack: The Moroccan Lead, » Coleman supported his accusations with a confidential letter written by the Chargé d’Affaires of the Moroccan Embassy in Sana’a to his ministry.

“I have the honor to inform you that I received yesterday at his request Mr. Franck Gellet, French Ambassador accredited to Sana’a, accompanied by Mr. Pierre Boquien, First Secretary at the French Embassy, and Thierry Eder, French Consul in Sana’a,” writes Hicham Oussihamou in this letter dated January 20, 2014.

“During this meeting, which was attended by a member of the DGED [Moroccan General Directorate of External Security], the French Ambassador informed me of the arrival in Sana’a of about forty Moroccan nationals who were living in the city of Damage in northern Yemen. He added that the individuals also held European, notably French, nationalities, raising concerns about their possible return to France without being identifiable,” Mr. Hicham Oussihamou adds. He also notes that his “interlocutor—while stating that he got his information from Mr. Jamal Benomar, the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy to Yemen, who, he insisted, maintains very good relations with the DG of the DGED—expressed a wish for cooperation to jointly address this issue,” the Moroccan diplomat continues.

Oussihamou specifies that Mr. Gellet “revealed to him that during his meeting with the Yemeni president, the latter strongly insisted on the immediate repatriation of the Salafists who were fighting against the Houthi movement in the north.”

As the icing on the cake, the Moroccan diplomat reveals to the French ambassador that these individuals still maintain close ties with Morocco.

“For my part,” he says, “I wished to thank the French ambassador for the information shared with this Mission, specifying that, contrary to what he suggested, these individuals still have close ties with Morocco and that, if they wish to return to their country, this Embassy will take all necessary measures to facilitate their departure from Yemen.”

“Finally, I emphasized that this Mission will make every effort, in coordination with the relevant Moroccan services, to identify the Moroccan nationals displaced from Damage and to provide them, to the extent possible and with the means available, assistance and support, primarily due to the very deteriorated security situation that has prevailed in Yemen since 2011,” concludes the letter.

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